Safe Emergency Transitions
by: rod
One of the challenges of Emergency Medicine is that we have to move critically ill patients.
Ambulance trolley to ED trolley.
ED trolley to CT table.
And back again.
Imaging can be a game changer. We aim to get our major trauma patients through trauma CT within 30 minutes of arrival – and sooner when possible.
But moving a sick patient is complex and potentially high risk.
An intubated patient may have bilateral chest drains, multiple vascular lines, invasive monitoring, a urinary catheter, splints, infusions – and an entire resuscitation team attached.
This is our inflatable CT scanner at ResusPro.
It means the scenario doesn’t stop when the initial resuscitation is complete. The team has to prepare the patient, transfer them onto the scanner table, manage every tube, line and piece of equipment, maintain monitoring and ventilation – and then get them safely back again.
All without unnecessarily delaying definitive imaging.
Safe, efficient emergency transitions require communication, coordination and choreography.
Moving faster doesn’t mean rushing. It means being practised.
That’s why at ResusPro we practise the transition – not just the resuscitation.
