Introduction:
The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne recently faced one of the worst school bus crashes in recent times. Six seriously injured children were brought in, and the hospital staff had to work quickly and efficiently to save their lives. In this article, we will explore how the hospital staff prepared for such an incident and how they managed to save the lives of these children.
Preparation:
The hospital staff had been preparing for years for an incident like this. As soon as they were notified by ambulance services that the most critically injured children from the Exford Primary School bus crash would soon be arriving, they sprung into action. The hospital began pulling together five teams of surgeons, doctors, and nurses. It sourced additional vascular and plastic surgeons from the neighboring Royal Melbourne Hospital, according to its plan.
Assessment:
Once the students arrived at the hospital, the trauma teams set about assessing their devastating injuries. Several had tourniquets that had been applied by paramedics at the crash scene to help stem the flow of blood from their limbs, which had been crushed and severed by the toppled bus. The teams of trauma specialists assessed the children’s airways, breathing, and circulation. They took blood tests so they could provide the appropriate transfusion. Those who needed surgery were whisked away to theatre and operated on by orthopaedic, plastic, and vascular surgeons.
Seat belts:
Joanne Grindlay, the Royal Children’s Hospital’s director of emergency medicine, says she was relieved that most children had been wearing seat belts. “This was a school bus with a large number of children on it,” she says. “We saw nine children here. We didn’t see a whole busload of children, which is what we might have seen if they hadn’t been wearing seat belts … a whole lot of children got out and were physically OK and seat belts had a large part to do with that.”
Emotional support:
While many children escaped without physical injuries, Grindlay says the incident would have traumatised all the children and their families. “They’ll need lots of emotional support. Some of the injured children will need to have ongoing rehabilitation once their initial injuries are managed and obviously psychological support for them and their families.” The hospital has also offered confidential support services to all staff who responded to the incident.
Conclusion:
The Royal Children’s Hospital staff had been preparing for years for an incident like this, and their preparation paid off. They worked quickly and efficiently to save the lives of six seriously injured children. The incident would have traumatised all the children and their families, and they will need lots of emotional support. The hospital has offered confidential support services to all staff who responded to the incident. It is important to be prepared for such incidents and to have a plan in place to manage them efficiently.
Source: theage.com.au
