Professor Tim Coats’ research focuses on emergency and trauma care and Accident and Emergency services. His expertise is helping to address some of the many challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presents in delivering healthcare in hospitals.

Working in personal protective equipment (PPE) brings a number of difficulties, including a decreased ability for clinical staff to talk to each other, to patients or to relatives. Critical conversations are often difficult, but the use of respirator masks makes them nearly impossible, particularly for patients with hearing loss or communication difficulties. Professor Coats is working with industry partners to design and build a new communications system that overcomes the problems caused by masks and respirators.

Professor Coats is also chairing a study into the early identification of COVID-19 in ambulances and emergency care, which aims to better predict which patients require admitting to hospital.