Developing a patient-centred care pathway for paediatric critical care in the Western Cape

Includes bibliographical referencesBackground: Emergency care of critically ill or injured children requires prompt identification, high quality treatment and rapid referral. This study examines the critical care pathways in a health system to identify preventable care failures by evaluating the entire pathway to care, the quality of care at each step along the referral pathway, and the impact on patient outcomes. Methods: A year-long cohort study of critically ill and injured children was performed in Cape Town, South Africa, from first presentation until paediatric intensive care unit admission or emergency centre death, using a modified confidential enquiry process of expert panel review and caregiver interview. Outcomes were expert panel assessment of quality of care, avoidability of death or PICU admission and severity at PICU admission, identification of modifiable factors, adherence to consensus standards of care, as well as time delays and objective measures of severity and outcome. Results: The study enrolled 282 children: 85% medical and 15% trauma cases (252 emergency admissions, and 30 children who died at referring health facilities). Global quality of care was graded poor in 57(20%) of all cases and 141(50%) had at least one major impact modifiable factor. Key modifiable factors related to access and identification of the critically ill, assessment of severity, inadequate resuscitation, delays in decision making and referral, and access to paediatric intensive care. Standards compliance increased with increasing level of healthcare facility, as did caregiver satisfaction. Children presented primarily to primary health care (54%), largely after hours (65%), and were transferred with median time from first presentation to PICU admission of 12.3 hours. There was potentially avoidable severity of illness in 74% of children, indicating room for improvement. Conclusions and Relevance: The study presents a novel methodology, examining the quality of paediatric critical care across a health system in a middle income country. The findings highlight the complexity of the care pathway and focus attention on specific issues, many amenable to suggested interventions that could reduce mortality and morbidity, and optimize scarce critical care resources; as well as demonstrating the importance of continuity and quality of care throughout the referral pathway

Language barriers impact prehospital care Methods and preliminary results

Emergency medical services (EMS) providers rely on accurate and efficient communication. Language barriers impact the spectrum of EMS: call-taking dispatch field care. Prior studies in the US show that language barriers: Are stressful for EMS providers and patients, Impact triage decisions (e.g., basic vs. advanced life support), Result in more resource-intensive care on arrival to the hospital despite lower patient acuity. Multicultural , multilingual communities in the American state of New Mexico and the South African province of Western Cape offer complementary settings for an exploratory study of the impact of language barriers across the spectrum of EMS care. This mixed methods study consists of a survey of EMS telecommunicators combined with semi-structured qualitative interviews of EMS field providers. We hypothesize that EMS systems in a variety of settings frequently face language barriers and that these language barriers impact care

Precarious Lives

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence This ground breaking book presents the first evidence of forced labour among displaced migrants who seek refuge in the UK. Through a critical engagement with contemporary debates about precarity, unfreedom and socio-legal status, the book explores how asylum and forced labour are linked, and enmeshed in a broader picture of modern slavery produced through globalised working conditions. Drawing on original evidence generated in fieldwork with refugees and asylum seekers, this is important reading for students and academics in social policy, social geography, sociology, politics, refugee, labour and migration studies, and policy makers and practitioners working to support migrants and tackle forced labour

Managing acute abdominal pain in the emergency centre:Lessons from a patient's experience

Pain is one of the most common reasons people present to the emergency centre with 7-10% of presentations being due to acute abdominal pain. However, pain is also often neglected by clinicians in emergency centres. The well validated South African Triage Score (SATS) incorporates pain assessment in the prioritising of patients with the aim of guiding clinicians. Based on the SATS, severe pain (a score of ≥8 out of 10) should prompt the clinician to initiate treatment within 10 min of presentation, as unmanaged pain has multiple negative consequences, including poor outcomes of the acute incident with delayed healing and increased risk of developing chronic pain. In this commentary, we present a patient's experience when attending an emergency centre for acute abdominal pain, describe relevant pain mechanisms and highlight the stages where clinical management could have been optimised

Prehospital care providers’ understanding of responsibilities during a behavioural emergency

Background: Prehospital emergency care providers are frequently called to assist with the management of mental healthcare users (MHCUs). The Mental Health Care Act no. 17 of 2002 regulates mental healthcare in South Africa, but the act fails to consider the responsibilities of prehospital emergency care providers in the provision of mental healthcare. Rather South African Police Services were given authority over the well-being of a MHCU in the prehospital setting. Aim: To investigate prehospital emergency care providers’ understanding of their responsibilities towards MHCUs and the community during the management of behavioural emergencies. Setting: The research was carried out at prehospital emergency care providers from the three main levels of care, currently operational within the boundaries of Pretoria, South Africa. Methods: A grounded theory qualitative study design was chosen using semi-structured focus groups for each level of prehospital emergency care – basic life support (BLS), intermediate life support (ILS) and advanced life support (ALS). Data from each focus group were collected through audio recordings and transcribed and analysed using a framework approach. Results: A total of 19 prehospital emergency care providers participated; two focus group interviews were performed for each level of care. The BLS focus groups each consisted of two participants. The ILS focus groups consisted of three participants each, and the ALS focus groups consisted of six and three participants. Four key themes were identified: perceptions of behavioural emergencies, responsibilities, understanding of legislation and barriers experienced. Conclusion: Participants placed high value on their moral and medical responsibilities towards MHCUs, which they described as ensuring the safety of themselves, MHCUs and the community; preventing further harm; and transporting MHCUs to an appropriate healthcare facility. There was a desire for revision of legislation, better education, skill development and awareness of mental healthcare in the prehospital emergency care setting

Acute pain assessment and management in the prehospital setting, in the Western Cape, South Africa: a knowledge, attitudes and practices survey

Background Acute pain is frequently encountered in the prehospital setting, and therefore, a fundamental aspect of quality emergency care. Research has shown a positive association between healthcare providers’ knowledge of, and attitudes towards pain and pain management practices. This study aimed to describe the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of emergency care providers regarding acute pain assessment and management in the prehospital setting, in the Western Cape, South Africa. The specific objectives were to, identify gaps in pain knowledge; assess attitudes regarding pain assessment and management; describe pain assessment and management behaviours and practices; and identify barriers to and enablers of pain care. Methods A web-based descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among emergency care providers of all qualifications, using a face-validated Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Pain survey. Results Responses of 100 participants were included in the analysis. The survey response rate could not be calculated. The mean age of respondents was 34.74 (SD 8.13) years and the mean years’ experience 10.02 (SD 6.47). Most respondents were male (69%), employed in the public/government sector (93%) as operational practitioners (85%) with 54% of respondents having attended medical education on pain care in the last 2 years. The mean percentage for knowledge and attitudes regarding pain among emergency care providers was 58.01% (SD 15.66) with gaps identified in various aspects of pain and pain care. Practitioners with higher qualifications, more years’ experience and those who did not attend medical education on pain, achieved higher scores. Alcohol and drug use by patients were the most selected barrier to pain care while the availability of higher qualified practitioners was the most selected enabler. When asked to record pain scores, practitioners were less inclined to assign scores which were self-reported by the patients in the case scenarios. The participant dropout rate was 35%. Conclusion Our results suggest that there is suboptimal knowledge and attitudes regarding pain among emergency care providers in the Western Cape, South Africa. Gaps in pain knowledge, attitudes and practices were identified. Some barriers and enablers of pain care in the South African prehospital setting were identified but further research is indicated

Sex differences in cervical disc height and neck muscle activation during manipulation of external load from helmets

Neck pain associated with helmet‐wear is an occupational health problem often observed in helicopter pilots and aircrew. Whether aircrew helmet wearing is associated with physiological and biomechanical differences between sexes is currently unknown. This study investigated neuromuscular activation patterns during different helmet‐wearing conditions. The helmet load was manipulated through a novel Helmet Balancing System (HBS) in healthy, non‐pilot male and female participants (n = 10 each, age 19–45 years) in two phases. Phase A assessed the acute effects of helmet‐wear on neck muscles activation during head movements. Phase B examined changes in muscle activity and cervical disc height after wearing a helmet for 45 min. In Phase A, muscle activity was similar between sexes in many movements, but it was higher in female participants when wearing a helmet than in males. The HBS reduced muscle activity in both sexes. In Phase B, female participants exhibited a greater level of muscular fatigue, and male participants’ cervical disc height was significantly decreased [5.7 (1.4) vs. 4.4 (1.5) mm, P < 0.001] after continuous wearing. Both sexes showed no significant change in muscle fatigue and disc height [male: 5.0 (1.3) vs. 5.2 (1.4) mm, P = 0.604] after applying HBS. These findings demonstrate sex‐specific physiological and biomechanical responses to wearing a helmet. They may indicate different postural and motor control strategies, associated with different neck pain aetiologies in male and female aircrew, the knowledge of which is important to reduce or prevent musculoskeletal injuries associated with helmet wearing. Highlights: What is the central question of this study? Do sex differences exist in the neck physiological response to helmet‐wearing? What is the main finding and its importance? Sex differences exist in both the acute response and after 45 min of helmet wearing: during a given head movement, female participants’ muscle activity was greater than male participants’ and females also demonstrated greater muscular fatigue after continuous helmet‐wear than males while cervical disc height showed a significant reduction after 45 min helmet‐wear in males only. These findings could provide insight into future training or injury prevention strategy for pilots