ACEM has paid tribute to the emergency department staff at Christchurch Hospital who worked rapidly and efficiently to provide care for patients and whānau affected by last week’s terrorist attack in Christchurch.
“You have worked long hours and volunteered for extra shifts, while being profoundly affected by this tragedy too. Kei konā kei a koutou ngā whakaaro,” President Dr Simon Judkins and President-Elect Dr John Bonning said.
In an interview on Sydney radio this week, Dr Bonning highlighted the work of the emergency department staff, who handled nearly 50 trauma presentations within a few hours, getting patients off to the operating theatre and the intensive care unit as rapidly and safely as possible in the circumstances.
“It was just a massive, massive critical event for which emergency physicians train and practise for in emergency departments but clearly hope never occur,” Dr Bonning said.
“In the build up to winter, we are incredibly busy – you will hear around New Zealand and Australia stories of blocked emergency departments and ambulances ramping – and so you had an incredibly busy emergency department and suddenly you had this event thrust upon them, and then for them to have coped so marvellously with it in such terrible circumstances was absolutely phenomenal.”
FACEM Dr Dominic Fleischer, the clinical lead for trauma who led the response on the day, along with other healthcare professionals, spoke about providing care to the injured, in a press conference organised by Canterbury District Health Board. Watch it here.
Dr Bonning said mass casualty events provide an element of uncertainty for emergency departments. “There’s always uncertainty initially,” he said. “The button gets pushed that a mass casualty event has occurred and multiple injured patients are about to arrive in the emergency department. It is difficult to know the extent of the injuries, the number of patients, whether or not yourself are in danger, whether a shooter or perpetrator is going to come in with injuries without you knowing that, or whether your loved ones may have been involved in the incident.
“So it is all incredibly raw for the amazing staff in Christchurch emergency department to have hit top gear rapidly and dealt so well and efficiently with these patients. Of course, we also pay tribute to the other professionals involved – the paramedics, anaesthetists, intensivists, surgeons, nursing staff and allied health. Everyone pulled together to make this work.”
Dr Bonning said the emergency department was well prepared following the city’s devastating earthquake in 2011.
“The teams got together and managed these patients with fantastic efficiency, having been through the trauma of the earthquake,” Dr Bonning said. “They have got their systems all ready to deal with these events. You hope it never happens, but then your planning is such that everything falls into place pretty rapidly and functions well.
“But it is so raw, so difficult [for staff]. Colleagues have said that there were some similarities, but also some differences, to the earthquake in the fact that it was clearly from the outset an inflicted wound situation. That is so hard to deal with emotionally. But you really need to put your blinkers on and focus on your job, and clearly all the staff did that.”
Dr Bonning said he was confident the welfare of all staff following the event was a top priority. The emotional impact of such an incident on frontline staff cannot be underestimated. “They have immediately launched into de-brief mode,” he said. “Everyone in the healthcare services who was involved has the option of formal de-briefing and access to psychological and external services, and then there are personal support networks that people use. But certainly looking after the emotional wellbeing of those who were directly involved – from the moment something like this occurs – is on the front of our minds.
“It may not be today, it may be tomorrow that some of this help and support is required. It may be next week. Or in a month’s time. But we really want to get behind and support our colleagues who were down there on the frontline dealing with this unspeakable tragedy.”