Mass Casualty Incidents - "from theory to reality"

Thursday 1 April 2021, 18:00 AEDT

Presented by: Cam Anderson and Craig Downing

The pre-hospital management of mass-casualty incidents is a challenging space for many paramedics, due to the rare nature of these events and the significantly different practices implemented whilst under significant pressure. The concepts of sieve, sort, casualty collection, marshalling, and working in a command and control hierarchy in a major multi-agency incident can be confronting and unfamiliar to many.

In a world of evidence-based practice, mass-casualty triage is one area where the evidence is, incredibly, lacking. The large-scale studies and randomised control trials required to drive evidence-based best practice are incredibly difficult to implement when mass-casualty incidents happen rarely but can happen anywhere, and at any time. Perhaps inevitably, a range of triage algorithms have been developed to provide paramedics with a structured approach to mass-casualty triage, and a range of products are available to provide a means of communicating the triage decision to other clinicians. Amongst all these systems and tools, how can we assess just what is best practice, and what happens when these systems are put to the test in the chaos of a real world major incident?

To explore the concepts of mass-casualty management and introduce the latest evidence base, Ambulance Tasmania Duty Manager Cam Anderson will discuss the results of his study, Mass-casualty triage algorithms: in search of best practice (Anderson, 2016). He will explore how various triage algorithms and tools have been applied at major incidents around the world, and propose a “best practice” approach to mass-casualty triage.

To discuss the real-world experience of mass-casualty incidents, Ambulance Tasmania Regional Manager Craig Downing will discuss real-world decision making in a crisis, from his experiences at several incidents including the Canterbury (NZ) earthquakes and the Christchurch Mosque terrorist attack.

This event will be delivered as a face to face event at Latrobe Ambulance Station and streamed live via Zoom and The College website. Please ensure you purchase the correct ticket.