EMSSA Conference
Taxi driver training in Madagascar: the first step in developing a functioning prehospital emergency care system
Abstract
Background Prehospital care in developing countries is severely lacking. Few countries can afford the relatively expensive formalised Western model of a prehospital emergency medical system. The WHO has highlighted the development of layperson first responder programmes as the most basic step in the development of a functioning prehospital system.
Haiti: The South African perspective
Abstract
FAST scanning in the developing world emergency department
Abstract
Nurses’ and doctors’ perceptions regarding the implementation of a triage system in an emergency unit in South Africa
Abstract
Triage assessment of patients on arrival at an emergency unit is an essential function in quality emergency care provision, and is a cost-effective and time saving venture. This study investigated nurses’ and doctors’ perceptions about the implementation of the Cape Triage Score in one emergency unit. The challenges encountered prior to the implementation of the Cape Triage Score and the roles and core competencies of the triage nurse were addressed as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the Cape Triage Score.
Comparison of mean on-scene times: road versus air transportation of critically ill patients in the Western Cape of South Africa
ABSTRACT
Background: The South African setting lends itself to the extensive use of air transport. There is a perception with healthcare providers that flight crews spend too much time with a patient before departure. The main advantage of aero medical transport is to minimise the delay to definitive care and prolonged on-scene time defies this objective. A study was carried out to examine the mean on-scene times of aero medical and road transport of critically ill patients in the Western Cape of South Africa. Keep Reading
State of emergency medicine in South Africa
Abstract
Introduction: Emergency medicine is a new speciality in South Africa. It was first registered in 2003, and there are now 30 specialists in the country, with 10 new graduates from local registrar training programmes and over 40 trainees on four programmes across the country. Keep Reading
Emergency department procedural sedation practice in Cape Town, South Africa
Abstract
Background: There are no general policies or protocols for procedural sedation in the emergency department and no literature on present practice in South Africa. Keep Reading
A procedure based alternative to the injury severity score for major incident triage of children: results of a Delphi consensus process
ABSTRACT
Background: Triage at the site of a major incident is key to effective scene management. A number of triage algorithms have been suggested to assist the triage officer to determine triage priorities. However, many advocated scores were not specifically developed for use in major incidents, nor are they designed for multiple age groups.
Many of these algorithms have not been validated: those that have were validated against the Injury Severity Score, which is of little relevance in a major incident—it is the urgency of medical intervention that is of importance in this setting. Keep Reading
Validation of the Paediatric Triage Tape
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The Paediatric Triage Tape (PTT) is an easy to use major incident primary triage tool, based upon a modification of the Triage Sieve. The purpose of this study was to prospectively validate the PTT for use in paediatric major incidents. Keep Reading
The cape triage score: a new triage system South Africa. Proposal from the cape triage group
ABSTRACT
The Cape Triage Group (CTG) convened with the intention of producing a triage system for the Western Cape, and eventually South Africa. The group includes in-hospital and prehospital staff from varied backgrounds. The CTG triage protocol is termed the Cape Triage Score (CTG), and has been developed by a multi-disciplinary panel, through best available evidence and expert opinion. The CTS has been validated in several studies, and was launched across the Western Cape on 1 January 2006.