Peter Baskett
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Peter Baskett MB BCh BAO, FRCA, FRCP, FFAEM, Dip IMC RCS (Ed) | |
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| Born | 26 July 1934 Belfast |
| Died | 18 April 2008 |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast, Queens' College Cambridge |
| Occupation | Consultant Anaesthetist |
| Years active | 1958 - 2007 |
| Organization(s) | President of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (1990 - 92) |
| Known for | Founder of paramedics in the UK and Europe, introduced Entonox (premixed nitrous oxide and oxygen) into the ambulance service and creator of the European Life Support (ALS) course |
| Spouse | Survived by Dr Fiona M Baskett |
| Children | Simon, Lucy, Olivia and Beatrice |
| Father | Sir Ronald Gilbert Baskett |
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Early Life
Peter John Firth Baskett was born in Northern Ireland on 26 July 1934. His father, Sir Ronald Gilbert Baskett, was professor and Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the Queen's University, Belfast and Peter was brought up on a 1000 acre research farm in Hillsborough, County Down. He attended Belfast Royal Academy and Campbell College, Belfast.
Career
Peter studied Medicine at Queens' College Cambridge, for his pre-clinical studies, then finished his degree at Queen's University Belfast, where he graduated with MB BCh BAO in 1958. He did his his house jobs at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast which included some time in Accident & Emergency medicine. An opportunity then arose for him to spend a spell as a Lecturer in physiology. He took this on and, as the pay was very low, he also did some locums in general practice both in rural practices as well as in Belfast.
He then began to explore the possibility of specialising in anaesthesia. He had watched anaesthetists at work and had administered the mandatory anaesthetics as a medical student. He approached the late Professor John Dundee who appointed him to a post in his department. Peter then travelled to London but, instead of doing the surgical primary fellowship as had been his original intention, he sat the anaesthetic primary fellowship going on to acquire the fellowship of the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons (FFARCS) IN 1963.
In Belfast, Peter had a wide experience in many aspects of medicine, including general medicine, the early days of cardiac surgery and early intensive care. In particular he became involved with the management of tetanus which in the rural areas was not uncommon. All of this work, however, was somewhat run-of-the- mill and he felt the need for a more academic environment. His search for a post offering a wider scope for his interests led him, in 1962, to Bristol where he was appointed registrar. In 1964, he became a senior registrar and in 1966 Peter was appointed consultant anaesthetist to the Bristol group of hospitals. Later that year, his friend and colleague (John Zorab) was also appointed consultant and thus began a friendship, professional and personal, that lasted until the death of John Zorab in 2006. They devised a "primary FFA course" calling on the teaching skills of many of the consultants in the Bristol area. Several years later this gave rise to a joint course with the College of Medicine in the University of Wales in Cardiff and, later still to a final FFA course.
However, while all this was going on, Peter had turned his mind to the practical aspects of providing a resuscitation service within the hospital. At the beginning, he arranged for a resuscitation box to be located on every acute ward. This was a simple cardboard box strapped to a board - the intention being that the board could be placed under the patient's back to make external cardiac massage more effective. The boxes were located in the entrance lobby to each of the main wards. A few defibrillators were located within 'running distance' of each acute ward. 'Bleeps' had just been introduced and Peter soon introduced the concept of a 'Resuscitation Registrar' and a hospital-wide emergency telephone number.
Baskett had, for some time, had a major interest in the use of Entonox (premixed nitrous oxide and oxygen) in pain relief. This was a major innovation. This step marked what was probably the beginning of Peter's most important contribution to healthcare: the provision of prehospital care by specially trained ambulance personnel. Nurses and physiotherapists had been using Entonox for some years but by equipping ambulance personnel to use it, a potent form of pain relief would be available to those who were always the first on scene. Peter, with typical enthusiasm, contacted the Chief Ambulance Officer for the Gloucestershire Ambulance Brigade, Alan Withnell. The ambulance personnel welcomed with open arms the idea that they might be able to provide rather more than the first aid to the patients who came under their care. Peter approached the British Oxygen Company (BOC), who were supportive and agreed to make Entonox apparatus available for training. A regular programme of training sessions began at Frenchay hospital and after a reasonable number of individuals had been trained, a pilot study was run by the Gloucestershire Ambulance Service in which ambulances were crewed by a driver and one of the new, highly trained ambulance men. The results of this trial were published in 1970. The training sessions for ambulance personnel were very time consuming and another solution had to be found. At that time many educationalists were exploring the potential for using audio-tape combined with slides as a learning medium. With funding from BOC, a tape/slide programme was made by Peter, John Zorab and Alan Withnell. This was a great help as several copies of the "pack" were made and they could be shown in any ambulance station in the country. So the number of trained personnel began to increase and it was not long before other ambulance services joined in. Some years later, the programme received government backing and was commended to all ambulances services in the United Kingdom (UK).
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The Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMT) UK was established. Peter became its first President and Royden R Harill, one of the first paramedics to be trained in the UK, became its Secretary. They travelled throughout the UK, holding seminars and discussions with Ambulance Service Chiefs, resulting in some 1800 personnel signing up to the Association and 42 branches becoming established.
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Frank Pantridge had established a doctor-manned prehospital coronary care service in 1967 and Douglas Chamberlain equipped ambulances in Brighton with defibrillators and trained ambulance personnnel to use them. Peter travelled extensively learning about other pre-hospital care schemes in other countries such as Germany and Denmark. Meanwhile, general practitioners (primary care doctors) with strong leadership from Kenneth Easton, were founding GP-based-schemes. Peter was one of the Founding Members of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and, in August 1989, at the first Executive Committee meeting of the ERC, he was elected chairman.
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As a member of the International Liaison Committee on Resucitation (ILCOR) from 1995 to 2000, Peter developed the international guidelines on airway management during resuscitation, and healthcare professionals across the world respected his expertise on this subject. In 1994, Peter published one of the first studies on the use of the laryngeal mask airway for in-hospital resuscitation. In 2005, in recognition of Peter's contributions to resuscitation the American Heart Association awarded him as a 'Resuscitation Giant'.
Other Roles
Peter of President of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland (1990 - 1992), BASICS (1981 - 85), the United Services section of the Royal Society of Medicine (1997 - 99), the World Association for Emergency and Disaster Medicine (1989 - 93), the ERC (1989 - 94), the International Trauma Anaesthsia and Critical Care Society (1995 - 98), the Triservice Society of Anaesthetists of the South Western Region (1997 - 98).
Peter has a long-standing interest in motor sport. In the 1950's he raced minis and was appointed as Chief Medical Officer to Castle Combe circuit in 1968, a position he held until 1995. Following his death in 2008, the Medical Centre at Castle Combe Race Circuit was re-named 'The Peter Baskett Medical Centre'.
In 1983, Peter joined the Medical Section of the Territorial Army (RAMC). Consistent with his successful career in the National Health Service, in 1987 he was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel and in 1992 was made Colonel and Commanding Officer of 219 Wessex Field Hospital.
Peter was Editor-in-Chief of the journal of Resuscitation from 1997 - 2008.
Publications
Use of Droperidol and Fentanyl for Anaesthesia for Ultra Sonic Destruction of the Labyrinth.