Saturday, June 2, 2007

** US combat medics not skilled enough in emergency airways

** UK medic jailed for stealing from dead patients

** West Australia sees advent of hallway medicine

UNITED STATES NEWS

** A US government report on the state of battlefield medicine says combat medics are often not skilled enough to properly do emergency airways. The Internet site of GovernmentExecutive.com (May 31) quoted from internal army briefings it had obtained. Citing cricothyroidotomies, the paper said improper performance of the skill has created patient complications. Although generally conceding an improvement over 15 years, the tome also said Iraq based UH-60 medevac aircraft are too small to house adequate high tech equipment and medical personnel.

UNITED KINGDOM NEWS

** A former East Midlands Ambulance Service paramedic is headed to jail for 21 months for stealing money from two dead patients. The Sun (John Askill/May 31) said David Wright, 50, pilfered the cash by first swiping the dead men’s bank cards. He then took the cards and withdrew large sums of cash. Wright committed the crimes within hours of the patients’ deaths and while still in uniform. Judge Abbas Mithani called his actions despicable, saying he had violated a public trust.

AUSTRALIA NEWS

** Hallway medicine is apparently coming to West Australia, with ambulance officers now expected to tend patients after overcrowded emergency departments max out at 120% of their capacity. The West Australian (May 31) quoted EMS union officials as saying the plan to make practitioners wait in holding areas with ill charges is ludicrous. Spokesman Dave Kelly said medics are concerned the practice could see less urgent patients consistently bumped to the back of the line. Shadow Health minister Kim Hames agreed, saying the hallway approach is basically bandaid medicine. Hames also questioned whether EMS workers would be blamed when a patient dies while waiting for ER care.