Reduction of time to definitive care in trauma patients: effectiveness of a new checklist system

Reducing Time to Urgent Surgery by Transporting Resources to the Trauma Patient

“…Rural hospitals are reported to have higher rates of morbidity and mortality for trauma in comparison to MTC 6,28,29 and when combined they call on closer links between MTC and rural hospitals 28,29 . Such links may include interhospital transfer guidelines, 30 timely consultation capabilities, referral and retrieval 20 . An MTC linked to a dedicated retrieval service has been associated with improved patient outcomes 13,31 …”

Interhospital transfers of patients with surgical emergencies: Areas for improvement

“…Further prospective research in our local area may clarify whether the delays are due to communication problems with the receiving tertiary referral centre, the difficulties of organising ambulance transport or undocumented interventions occurring at the referral hospital prior to transfer. The development of a check list system covering communication between hospitals has been shown to reduce time to definitive treatment in trauma patients 6 and this may be applicable to patients with general surgical emergencies.…”

Transfer of intubated patients with traumatic brain injury to Auckland City Hospital

“…It has been recognized that failure to complete all necessary procedures prior to the arrival of the transport team is a common cause of delay in transport 21 . The approach of introducing a checklist system to improve and speed transfer has met with some success in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia and may be an option in our region 22 .…”