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Published on: April 7, 2023
Paediatric workload of an adult retrieval service in Scotland
Christina L Harry1, Jon Mccormack, Michael Donald
1aEmergency Medical Retrieval Service bRoyal Hospital for Children cRoyal Alexandra Hospital, Glasgow dRoyal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh eNinewells Hospital, Dundee, UK.
Insights
The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) increasingly retrieves pediatric patients despite a separate network. This study analyzes 112 pediatric retrievals over 9 years to guide future service development.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Pediatric Retrieval Services
- Remote Healthcare
Background:
- The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) primarily serves adult patients with life-threatening conditions in remote areas.
- Paediatric patients are managed by a separate, dedicated network.
- An increasing trend of paediatric retrievals by the EMRS has been observed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze paediatric retrievals conducted by the EMRS.
- To inform future service development for paediatric retrieval.
- To understand how EMRS can better serve paediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective, observational study design.
- Data collected from the EMRS database over a 9-year period.
- Inclusion of all paediatric patients retrieved by EMRS.
Main Results:
- A total of 112 paediatric patients were retrieved.
- 46% of retrievals were primary responses.
- Common injuries included head (n=29) and orthopaedic (n=16) injuries.
- Key interventions comprised fluid resuscitation (n=34), ventilation (n=22), and sedation/paralysis (n=22).
Conclusions:
- The EMRS has evolved to manage paediatric retrievals beyond its original adult remit.
- Findings highlight the need for service adaptation to accommodate paediatric cases.
- This study provides insights into the characteristics and interventions for paediatric retrievals by an adult-focused service.
Abstract:
The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) provides adults with life-threatening conditions in remote areas with timely interventions and rapid access to definitive medical care, including a primary response service. Paediatric patients are managed under a separate network. Despite this, there has been an increase in paediatric retrievals by EMRS. We aim to inform future service development and ascertain how EMRS can serve the needs of this cohort. This is a retrospective, observational study. Raw data were retrieved from the database of paediatric patients retrieved by EMRS for 9 years. A total of 112 paediatric patients were retrieved; 46% were primary retrievals. The most common injuries were head injuries (n=29) and orthopaedic injuries (n=16). Common interventions include fluid resuscitation (n=34), ventilation (n=22) and sedation/paralysis (n=22).This study describes the evolution of an adult retrieval service to cover paediatric patients in Scotland outside the remit of the paediatric retrieval service.
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