Cornelius Venter, Nathan Conradie, M. Venter, L. Jordaan, Maryna Venter, D. Stanton, W. Stassen
{"title":"A proposed definition of Critical Care Retrieval in the South African context","authors":"Cornelius Venter, Nathan Conradie, M. Venter, L. Jordaan, Maryna Venter, D. Stanton, W. Stassen","doi":"10.24213/2-1-4477","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24213/2-1-4477","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Critical care retrieval is a nascent field in South Africa. An increasing number of private and provincial emergency medical services are starting to invest in developing and setting up dedicated critical care retrieval services (CCRS). To date, there are no minimum standards or definitions on what constitutes a CCRS in the South African context. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of and propose a consensus definition of CCRS within the South African context. \u0000Methods: A literature search was performed to determine the key aspects of CCRS definitions elsewhere. An initial draft definition was circulated to the CCRS working group of the Emergency Care Society of South Africa (ECSSA) for commentary. Comments were collated, and a second round of commentary was undertaken. Finally, a consensus meeting was held through video-conferencing to finalise the definition presented herein. Thereafter, the definition was circulated to key role-players in emergency and critical care, both locally and internationally, for endorsement. The definition, as it is presented, has been endorsed by the ECSSA, the Southern African Society of Critical Care (SASCC), and the International Board for Specialty Certification (IBSC). \u0000Results: The proposed definition outlines five equally important aspects that should be demonstrable and interlinked to be denoted a CCRS. These five aspects are: specific patient populations, case selection, dedicated crew with additional training, dedicated equipment, and continuous quality management and training. \u0000Conclusion: Numerous questions remain unanswered regarding the best approach for CCRS development in South Africa and internationally. Defining what CCRS is in a South African context is a necessary departure point for further research endeavours to develop a core curriculum and practice standards.","PeriodicalId":287490,"journal":{"name":"South Afican Journal of Pre-hospital Emergency Care","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133300324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Craig Visagie, Luke van Tonder, Ruwan Prinsloo, Jared Surtees, K. Gerber, Pieter Huysamen
{"title":"Extent of post-traumatic stress disorder among Eastern Cape emergency care workers in the public health care sector","authors":"Craig Visagie, Luke van Tonder, Ruwan Prinsloo, Jared Surtees, K. Gerber, Pieter Huysamen","doi":"10.24213/2-1-3963","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24213/2-1-3963","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Pre-hospital emergency care workers (PECWs) often struggle to cope with an increasingly hostile environment while on duty. As a result, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) amongst PECWs is on the rise and negatively affects their ability to treat patients. Further, PTSD could cloud PECWs’ clinical decision-making and judgement. This ultimately places strain on emergency care departments’ resources and directly affects patient care and service delivery. The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which PECWs experience PTSD symptoms in Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB). \u0000Methods: A quantitative design and convenience sampling method were used. The research population for this study was all operational PECWs employed by the Eastern Cape Department of Health within the emergency medical services (EMS) in NMB. Data were collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire comprising two sections; the first section focused on respondents’ demographic information, and the second section was a validated PTSD questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were reviewed using Microsoft Excel. \u0000Results: Sixty-eight PECWs took part in the study. It was identified that of the 68 respondents, 41 (60.3%) showed symptoms of PTSD and could possibly be diagnosed with PTSD. The mean PTSD score was 42.01±17.354, ranging in the category of ‘possible diagnosis of PTSD’. The highest mean PTSD scores were reported among respondents who identified themselves as female (p<0.001). Those within the age category of 51–60 years, those who were Advanced Life Support (ALS) practitioners, and those with 20 years or more work experience also had high mean PTSD scores. \u0000Conclusion: PTSD remains a burden on both the individual and the organisation employing the individual. This study highlighted that many PECWs employed in the Eastern Cape public health care sector showed symptoms and could be diagnosed with PTSD, with female PECWs being at the highest risk.","PeriodicalId":287490,"journal":{"name":"South Afican Journal of Pre-hospital Emergency Care","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123615539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Wylie, Sanjeev Rambharose, I. Ebrahim, Nicky Hickman, L. Wallis, W. Stassen
{"title":"Medication storage in Emergency Medical Services: Temperature ranges from a South African sample","authors":"C. Wylie, Sanjeev Rambharose, I. Ebrahim, Nicky Hickman, L. Wallis, W. Stassen","doi":"10.24213/2-1-4480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24213/2-1-4480","url":null,"abstract":"CITATION: Wylie, C. A., et al. 2021. Medication storage in Emergency Medical Services : temperature ranges from a South African sample. South African Journal of Pre-hospital Emergency Care, 2(1):2-6, doi:10.24213/2-1-4480.","PeriodicalId":287490,"journal":{"name":"South Afican Journal of Pre-hospital Emergency Care","volume":"23 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126449457","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Retrospective study of the pre-hospital trauma burden managed by the Western Cape Government Emergency Medical Services","authors":"N. Abdullah, C. Saunders, M. McCaul, P. Nyasulu","doi":"10.24213/2-1-4440","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24213/2-1-4440","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Trauma is one of the leading causes of premature death and disability in South Africa. There is a lack of data describing the pre-hospital trauma burden in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of common trauma emergencies managed by the Western Cape Government (WCG) emergency medical services (EMS) in South Africa. \u0000Methods: The WCG EMS call centre registry was retrospectively analysed for all trauma patients managed between 01 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed using standard procedures for all variables. To date, this Is the first analysis of this dataset or any prehospital trauma burden managed in the Western Cape of South Africa. \u0000Results: The WCG EMS managed 492 303 cases during the study period. Of these, 168 980 (34.3%), or 25.5 per 1000 population, were trauma related. However, only 91 196 met the inclusion criteria for the study. The majority of patients (66.4%) were men between the socio-economically active ages of 21–40 years (54.0%). Assaults were the most common cause of trauma emergencies, accounting for 50.2% of the EMS caseload. The patient acuity was categorised as urgent in 47.5% of the cases, and 74.9% of the prehospital trauma burden was transported to a secondary level health care facility for definitive care. \u0000Conclusion: This is the first report on the prehospital trauma burden managed in the Western Cape of South Africa. The Western Cape suffers a unique trauma burden that differs from what is described by the World Health Organization (WHO) or any other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It also provides the foundation for further research on emergency care needs in South Africa and support for Afrocentric health care solutions to address this public health crisis.","PeriodicalId":287490,"journal":{"name":"South Afican Journal of Pre-hospital Emergency Care","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124701054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}