Challenges in pre-hospital management of children

James Tooley discusses the sheer terror that comes with the challenge of managing children in the pre-hospital environment.

As James explains, although many clinicians may think that they do not need to (or may not want to) think about the paediatric population, it is something that every clinician would do well to mentally prepare for.

James shows a video clip of a large-scale paediatric trauma and challenges you to consider being dispatched to the scene. How do you prepare for that?

Simulation, as usual, is key. Through simulation one can discover knowledge gaps, limitations of equipment and guidelines, and coping strategies.

James takes you through some specific pointers regarding equipment that one should carry when anticipating dealing with pre-hospital paediatric emergencies.

Next, James discusses pressure and how it degrades performance. A clinician should be aware of where their pressure limit is. The importance lies in recognising when you reach your cognitive overload.

Once you recognise this point you can be aware of it, deal with it and train to prevent it.

James continues to talk about simple ways to approach the pre-hospital paediatric emergency. The primary survey does not, and should not, go out the window in paediatric cases.

Similarly, simple analgesia can be a fantastic starting point to take control of a situation.

Lastly, James points out that just because young people are small and can be moved off scene easily, does not always make this the right choice. Stabilise, and then move is his message.

James contends that clinicians train and prepare for adult emergency situations and he challenges the audience to treat paediatric emergencies in the same regard.

Challenges in pre-hospital management of children

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