Minimum equipment guidelines for paediatric prehospital care

Emergency Paediatrics Section, Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS)

Canadian Journal of Paediatrics 1994;1(4):128-9
Reference No. EP 1994-01

Revision in progress November 2008

Index of position statements from the Emergency Paediatrics Section

Introduction

Like other components of health care in Canada, the responsibility for ensuring the delivery of appropriate effective prehospital care rests with the provincial authorities. Most provinces have established either a branch of the ministry of health or an emergency health services commission with responsibility for prehospital care. These branches/agencies may or may not have developed provincial equipment standards for ambulances, and very few of them have specifically identified standards to meet the needs of paediatric patients.

The Canadian Paediatric Society, the Trauma Association of Canada and the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians are concerned that specific paediatric equipment standards should be developed and implemented in each province. Many services continue to improvise and use adult equipment when transporting children. The response of equipment suppliers allows a much more appropriate selection of equipment for the care of critically ill and injured children in the prehospital setting.

There are tremendous regional and provincial variations across Canada in prehospital care. In part this is due to demographic and geographic factors. The equipment needs of an ambulance service in rural and remote areas with low call volumes and prolonged response and transport times is substantially different from those of a service in a densely populated urban area. The level of training also varies significantly across the country, even between urban communities of comparable size. The equipment needs of highly trained paramedics in sophisticated systems are substantially different from those of a basic life support service.

These guidelines represent the minimum equipment necessary, in the judgement of the three societies, for the provision of an acceptable standard of basic life support to critically ill and injured children in Canada. Regional and service variations will mandate the addition of other supplies and equipment, but all prehospital care systems in the country should at least be equipped to this level. It should be emphasized that appropriate training specific to the paediatric population should be completed by prehospital care providers before this equipment is used. The services involved should have quality management programs in place to ensure that equipment is available and used appropriately, and to evaluate the quality of care provided.

Emergency Paediatrics Section 

Members: Drs. James D. Kellner (vice-chairman), The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ont.; Marilyn M. Li (past chairman), Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ont.; David L. McGillivray (secretary), Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, Qc; Robert L. Thivierge (chairman), Hôpital Ste-Justine, Montreal, Qc; David W. Warren, Dorchester, Ont. 
Liaison: CPS Injury Prevention Committee, Dr. Heather Onyett, Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston, Ont.

This statement was produced in conjunction with the Trauma Association of Canada and the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.