This isn't a Trauma center!

Over the past 15 years in the field I have noticed a trend here in Georgia. Here we have a Trauma system that rates a hospital's ability to take care of trauma victims. Level one is the top tier for a Trauma Center. Interestingly enough we only have 15 designated trauma centers. Only 4 are designated as Level 1. The rest are considered Level 2 (2 are pediatric). If you want to learn more about the Trauma System and the push to improve it see this link: http://georgiaitsabouttime.com/

The topic I want to discuss is the famous line by nurses all around: "Why did you bring them here? This isn't a trauma center". Now I must say that all hospitals do not operate on the assumption that they cannot care for trauma patients. Their are a sporadic few that don't complain when you bring a trauma patient to an Emergency Room. However, it is much more common to hear this complaint. I understand that sometimes it may be a little taxing to take care of a patient with a traumatic injury. They call it an Emergency Room because it is equipped to handle medical emergencies. Yes, some are better equipe than others. I do understand that some patients have been inappropriately transported to a hospital that is not equipped to handle surgical intervention for a critical trauma patient. What I don't understand is the automatic assumption prior to evaluating a patients condition that the injuries require a trauma center to intervene. I have seen many complaints about the condition being to critical only to find out that the patient was discharged 2 hours later with a minor injury. I don't think that some health care providers understand our level of training and our ability to triage patients. I can appreciate the fact that some Medics are burned out or just plain lazy. But I cannot accept that it is assumed that the Paramedic on shift today is substandard because the Paramedic that worked yesterday made a poor decision.

I know that most ER's are overwhelmed with high volumes of patients at times. I understand that many times staffing is an issue. Patient care comes first. Part of patient care is instilling confidence in the patient that we can handle their condition. If a patient hears either of us complaining about the fact that they may not be at the appropriate facility then they have every right to believe that they are not at the right facility. ED staff please refrain from automatically assuming the patient has not been properly triaged and the proper facility chosen. EMS staff please refrain from being lax in your assessments. Please don't be too lazy to transport your patient to a designated trauma center if their condition warrants transport to the proper facility.

I don't want anyone to make the assumption that I am blaming Nurses, Doctors, PAs, Paramedics or EMT's solely. This is an issue that we must all evaluate and correct. We are a team. We may not work for the same company but we all work for the patient. Let's do our part. If we all improve ourselves, then the patient benefits. Nurses, if you feel the patient was cared for inappropriately, contact your supervisor and have them address the incident. EMS personnel, do the right thing. Don't be surprised when you receive a complaint and don't whine about someone else taking note of you not doing your job properly. We are human, we are subject to make mistakes. We must learn not only from our mistakes but also from others we have seen. A mistake by us may be a wheelchair for our patient. Adequate triage and transport may be their ticket to walking out of the hospital and living without a disability.