Presented by Toby Keene Presentation Synopsis: Hospitals have used lactate measurements for years to help determine if a patient is critically unwell. Despite this, ambulance services have been slow to adopt prehospital lactate into their bag of tricks. This presentation will consider what is lactate, what can it be used for and (most importantly) is it actually useful for the paramedic or is it just a waste of time and money.

Bio: Toby Keene commenced his emergency service career as a first aid volunteer in 1997 and joined the ACT Ambulance Service in 2001, qualifying as an Intensive Care Paramedic in 2004. Since then, he has gained experience as a flight paramedic, clinical educator and operations manager. In 2007, he completed a 12-month attachment to the Australian Federal Police as an operations support paramedic. He has deployed on disaster relief operations to Victoria in 2009, Philippines in 2013, and Western Australia in 2015. In 2012, he was appointed to the position of Clinical Quality Assurance Officer in the ACT Ambulance Service where he continues to work on-road as an Intensive Care Paramedic. Toby’s tertiary qualifications include a Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology, a Graduate Certificate in Aeromedical Retrieval and a Master of Public Health. At home, Toby is married with two young children and doesn’t get nearly enough time to enjoy mountain biking or snow skiing.