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Original poster

Trauma calls in A&E

31 replies

BackforGood · 19/12/2018 21:42

Just watching '24hours in A&E' (but also like all the Air Ambulance progs etc).

When they put a call out over the tannoy "Paediatric trauma 10mins" or "Adult trauma 15mins" etc., having taken a phone call from HEMS or the Air Ambulance or whoever, is there a reason they say '10mins' rather than "expected at 9..15" or "due at 17:22" or whatever ?

I always think, if any of the Team needed are in the middle of something, having an eta in the emergency call would be more useful than them wondering what time it was when the call came in, once they free themselves.

I wonder this every time I hear it, so thought I'd seek the wisdom of MN to see if there is a reason I've not thought of

OP posts:

AlexaAmbidextra · 19/12/2018 21:49

More accurate than having to deal with watches/clocks that may not be accurate.

IHaveBrilloHair · 19/12/2018 21:55

I am in A&E a lot, there is no trauma phone that I've ever heard.
Sometimes I'm taken straight to ressus other times just A&E majors.

sundaysunday · 19/12/2018 22:03

In my workplace all members of the trauma team are paged simultaneously so there is no need to wonder what time the call came in, you just have 10 mins etc from the time the pager goes off

FixTheBone · 19/12/2018 22:05

Every unit I've worked in has a time like 10minutes. It saves having to look for a clock, work out the eta and then work out how much time you've got to finish what you're doing.

In reality you ought to be free from doing anything else, other than other trauma calls...

Lilahthetiger · 19/12/2018 22:08

The call goes out over your bleep too, if you're on the team, so you can remember 10 mins and if needs be check the call time on your bleep

CharlotteFlax · 19/12/2018 22:08

The ambulance crews simply know that it'll take ten minutes or whatever to get the patient to hospital, so that's what they say on the phone.

Crunchymum · 19/12/2018 22:10

@IHaveBrilloHair

Do you mean you are in A&E a lot as a patient? If so then I'm glad you aren't privvy to the "trauma phone"

IHaveBrilloHair · 19/12/2018 22:14

Yes, a patient.
They always make it seem like it's loud on the TV though!

FestiveLemur · 19/12/2018 22:15

If I put out an adult trauma call, ETA 17:22, you'd have the entire ED craning their necks trying to find a clock and work out when that was and how much time they had. It's busy in there and time goes so fast, we often don't in know what it is!

"ETA: 10 mins" gives everyone who needs to be there fair warning to finish up and get to Resus.

FixTheBone · 19/12/2018 22:17

Maybe you go somewhere that doesn't take trauma calls, or have been lucky enough to avoid them.

In most places it's loud enough to be heard across the whole department

WisteriaPurple · 19/12/2018 22:17

IHaveBrilloHair
It does sound loud to the staff - having worked in A&E for only a few months, the ear becomes finely attuned to it's particular ringing!

ElfOnTheShelfAteMyJoy · 19/12/2018 22:18

Brilliant do you mean you don't hear it ringing, or you don't hear the conversation?

ElfOnTheShelfAteMyJoy · 19/12/2018 22:18

Brillo not brilliant!

dalmatianmad · 19/12/2018 22:25

I'm an AE sister. Our trauma phone is in resus and rings loudly through all areas of the department with a red flashing light next to all the speakers . We dont announce anything over the tannoy.
The staff in resus will all know what's coming in with an ETA. This allows us to clear out, get equipment and drugs ready. We can also activate the trauma team and the major haemorrhage policy if it's something big.
I often wonder if we should announce "adult trauma 5 mins" over the tannoy.
It might make the moaning man with his stubbed toe realise how insignificant his injury is

SockQueen · 19/12/2018 23:29

I don't work in ED, but am on the trauma team, so get fast bleeped if a trauma call comes in. The bleep goes out as soon as the call has been received, so there's no need to wonder exactly what time they might have called. Plus it's only ever an estimate, giving a very precise time would mean a)everyone starts looking for a clock and b)people start tapping their watches if they don't roll through the door at 17.22 exactly. All the timing tells me is if I have to drop everything and come now (or arrange someone else to go if I can't leave what I'm doing) or if I have a few minutes to tidy up whatever I might be doing and come at a slightly more leisurely pace.

SnugglySnerd · 19/12/2018 23:35

Can anyone tell me in a typical a&e dept how often this would happen? Several times a day?

Original poster

BackforGood · 19/12/2018 23:35

Thanks all . The things that you ponder.

OP posts:

SockQueen · 19/12/2018 23:38

@SnugglySnerd it depends if that hospital is a Major Trauma Centre or not. They get way more than your average DGH, and all the more serious cases. A standard DGH ED might have one or two trauma calls per day, MTCs will have a lot more.

SnugglySnerd · 19/12/2018 23:41

Thanks Sockqueen.

I keep thinking of questions now! What happens if a trauma comes in whilst the team are already dealing with a trauma? How many traumas could one dept cope with at once?

dalmatianmad · 20/12/2018 07:24

We are not a major trauma centre, but we are on of the biggest A+E's in the region.

We have a helipad and do take trauma but we can divert to the trauma centre if more appropriate.

We have a couple of traumas a day. RTC'S, stabbings, shootings, traumatic cardiac arrests etc.

Some ambulance crews will scoop and run, especially if they are down the road from us.
It's not unusual to have two cardiac arrests at one time.

Most of the senior nurses are ALS (advanced life support) trained so can run their own arrests.

Adult and paeds are separate but we often help out because they have very few staff on each shift. This is my worse nightmare. I hate dealing with poorly kids. A few years ago we dealt with a very big house fire where multiple children died and this is something I'll never get over.

SockQueen · 20/12/2018 07:47

My hospital could probably manage 2 major traumas at once, just about, using ED staff and the usual people who attend a trauma call. Any more than that, especially out of hours, and they'd have to call in extra people from home, which gets complicated.

MissPhonic · 20/12/2018 10:35

Just finished a rotation in which I had to carry the trauma bleep for orthopaedics. It's much easier to get an idea of how long it'll be in minutes rather than a time when you aren't allowed to wear a watch due to infection control.

Realistically I know if it says 10 minutes that I should quickly finish what I'm doing and head over to resus- sods law says you're the other side of the hospital when you get called.

One memorable trauma call came through "adult trauma call ETA NOW"

Schuyler · 20/12/2018 20:53

Stupid question but is it only for trauma or do they phone for medical crisis like someon critically unwell but not as a result of an accident?

WisteriaPurple · 20/12/2018 21:02

Schuyler they will phone for medical emergencies, this might be a cardiac or peri arrest call and the bleeps go out to a slightly different group of people in addition to ED staff being present. Ie medical team holding the 'crash bleep' or 'stroke bleep' rather than 'trauma bleep' (orthopaedic and general surgeons).

Schuyler · 20/12/2018 21:05

Ah ok, thank you.

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