The obesity epidemic already placing a huge strain on Australia’s health system is spreading to a whole new level.
CareFlight Medical Service's air medical expertise was recently put to the test when a 260kg patient required emergency medical transport.
A regular transfer requires two medical retrieval practitioners including a doctor and a nurse or paramedic, as well as the aircrew for the particular aircraft. This case however, had some of the best in the business thinking outside the square.
“This bariatric transfer required 12 staff including doctors, nurses, medics, pilots and loading personnel,” said CareFlight’s Dr Stefan Mazur.
With Australia’s obesity rate rising to alarming levels, Dr Mazur says while this case was extreme there’s no doubt the number of difficult medical retrievals involving overweight patients will rapidly increase.
“Medical retrieval practitioners are coming across situations like this more and more. It’s necessary to have a specific bariatric transfer plan in place to accommodate overweight and obese patients,” he said.
The retrieval service had no choice but to call in a RAAF Hercules to transport the 258kg patient from Mt Isa to Townsville. The patient was suffering from pneumonia, renal failure and a level of heart failure that Mt Isa Hospital was not equipped to deal with.
“We needed to think outside the box for this one. We were unable to transport a patient of that size using our usual aircraft, so we worked in conjunction with the military to get the job done,” Dr Mazur said.
The transfer involved loading the patient into a modified Australian Defence Force ambulance which was then driven onto a RAAF Hercules for the flight to Townsville.
“After we received the call requesting the retrieval it took about 12 hours to arrange the transfer, which is a very good response time considering the logistics involved in securing the personnel and military equipment needed,” said Dr Mazur.
The team encountered a variety of logistical and clinical difficulties during the transfer.
“The patient had to be intubated prior to being moved so the big challenge was not only moving the person, but continuing critical care and monitoring at the same time,” Dr Mazur said.
Earlier this month, Dr Mazur presented a discussion paper on this hugely challenging but successful bariatric transfer. The CareFlight Doctor was awarded Best Paper at the International Society of Aeromedical Services (ISAS) Conference in Adelaide.
ENDS
Media Contact Renee Buckingham 0421 381 023
CareFlight Medical Services specialises in the training, provision and integration of critical care doctors into the air medical environment. On behalf of QLD Health CMS doctors work on board all on all of the state’s fixed and rotary wing medical aircraft.