The relevant section of each set of notes was accessed and the information contained was summarised under the appropriate headings (Table 1). Differences and omissions could then be highlighted and the significance discussed within the research team.
The initial data collection was conducted by a paramedic educator with 10 years experience in the ambulance ser- vice. Sections of the data analysis and the findings were then reviewed by two Consultant Nurses, one working within an ED the other with an ambulance service.
The information was then compared and differences noted. Differences highlighted consisted of information that had either changed between notes or details or deemed from the reviewer’s professional opinion to be pertinent, in the pre-hospital notes that had not been transferred to the hospital notes.