Vikki it's music to my ears to hear your description of the long spine board
as a extrication device. I'd love to know how the radiographers are aware of
this when the 'casualty' staff are not.
I'd humbly recommend that when this sort of poppycock is spouted by junior
medical and nursing staff you speak to someone more senior with some
emergency medicine training. I'm sorry these situations still occur in my
specialty, but the fact you're given conflicting stories suggests a lack of
a clear policy or familiarity with the policies in that department which
could perhaps be addressed by a dialogue between the radiology and A&E
consultant(s) to avoid you and the junior A&E staff having to grapple with
inconsistent practice.
Interestingly, I was bewildered to discover that it is POLICY in the
teaching hospital emergency department I worked in in Australia to put a
trauma patient with potential for spinal injury ONTO a spine board on
arrival in the ED and keep them on it "until the spine can be cleared".
Accepting that my debating/negotiation skills are still in the training
phase, it was nevertheless frustrating to find the ED consultants unwilling
to discuss the disadvantages of this and potential advantages of other
methods of spinal immobilisation. I'd be interested to hear from some of the
other Australasian docs as to whether the ACEM has a policy on this and
whether your local practice differs.
With best wishes
Cliff Reid
Australia
>While I'm on the issue, I thought spinal boards were an extrication device-
>they look very uncomfortable and often a patient can have spent over an
>hour
>on them before we've finished x-raying everything we've been asked for. I
>asked a Casualty nurse about it, and was unhelpfully informed that the
>patient couldn't be removed from the spinal board and clothing couldn't be
>cut off until we'd cleared the spine. Somehow that doesn't match with my
>experience, and I would be grateful for some clarification from the 'docs'.
>As a radiographer I would ideally like to provide the best quality images
>possible- and the information I have been given by the A and E staff I work
>with seems confusing at times and conflicting at worst!
>TIA
>Vikki Chase
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