Child saved by emergency medicine team
A child's life has been saved, thanks to the quick action of staff in UHNM's emergency care centre. The patient, who had sustained a traumatic brain injury, received essential expert care from Royal Stoke's emergency medicine team, spending less than 60 minutes at the site before being quickly transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital. Over an intensive 30-minute period, a range of staff from across the field of emergency medicine came together to analyse the extent of the child's injuries and administer lifesaving care.
Earlier in the year, Dr Chinery and colleagues had been training in County Hospital's Extended Reality Lab (ERL), where by coincidence they had worked on a simulation which covered very similar circumstances. The lab offers an immersive virtual reality training experience and allows any setting to be projected onto blank walls, taking away the need for lengthy set up when providing simulated training in a ward, emergency resus area or pre-hospital environment.
Dr James Chinery, (far left), Consultant in Trauma Anaesthesia and pre-hospital emergency medicine, said: "The training we had undertaken at the ERL had a direct benefit to this patient's care as it meant we were able to put the right processes in place as quickly as possible. However, knowing what to do would have counted for little without the impressive work of the team of Outreach, Adult, and Children's emergency nursing staff, who were all outstanding. I am particularly grateful to Helen Bloor, who ably accompanied me on the transfer and to my colleague Dr Mike Greenway, who volunteered to cover Code Red trauma calls during my absence from the hospital whilst I undertook the transfer. This is a moment where I felt truly proud to care. I had a sense that we had delivered something really impressive for this lad, giving him the very best of medical and nursing care, something which we should all be genuinely proud of as an organisation."
The team have been given the Chief Executive's Award in recognition of their services.
Tracy Bullock, Chief Executive, said: "I remember hearing about this and just thinking "wow!" This award epitomises the great skill and expertise that these guys have, as well as the passion for caring for our patients. Their work has a huge impact on patients' lives and in this case the young man that needed their help. I really thank them for all that they do."