In cases where people are having difficulty breathing, or are unconscious and unable to maintain their own airway, paramedics use plastic tubes to keep the patient's airway clear and open.
This can be done by any paramedic and is an important step to saving a life. It is generally used on people with head injuries, drug or alcohol overdoses, major trauma, drownings, or any other complaint that can lead to a loss of consciousness.
MICA paramedics are also trained in a process called rapid sequence intubation. In this process, MICA paramedics use drugs to put a patient into a coma before placing a long tube into their lungs and breathing for them using manual ventilation. This is a highly complex skill and AV was the first ambulance service in Australia to perform it.