Synopsis:In 2002 RCH introduced the medical emergency team (MET) system. The MET system functioned well and prevented deaths from foreseeable cardiac arrest in 3 children each year, or 1 in every 72 MET calls to wards. This preempted by a decade the recommendation to healthcare institutions by the Australian Commission on Quality and Safety in Health Care to introduce and maintain systems whereby the condition of a deteriorating patient can be detected and rapid assistance obtained. Initially the MET system functioned on a discretionary basis, however, foreseeable and possibly preventable cardiac arrest and death have continued to occur occasionally, often because staff didn’t call a MET.

Soon after moving to the new hospital, RCH introduced a trial of a mandatory MET calling system, first on Koala ward and then on Sugar Glider ward. Incorporated in this change were revised calling criteria and redesigned ward observation charts. These have been adapted for a trial of a State-wide ward observation chart and a rapid response system to summon urgent assistance for the deteriorating child by ward staff.

This Grand Round will consider the results of the trial of our mandatory MET system, the rationale of new wards observation charts and rapid response system, and extension of the system to the whole hospital. Come along to learn about the model of MET we will have in 2014.

Speaker:

Jim Tibballs (RCH Resuscitation Officer), Meredith Allen (Quality Unit), Sharon Kinney (Nursing Research), Allison Ellis (Nurse Unit Manager, Koala Ward)