Mr Tim Wallace1
1Careflight Gove Operations, East Arnhem, Australia
The transport setting presents a number of challenges to any organisation that carries drugs where practices strike a balance between clinical safety, space/weight constraints and operational expedience. The procedures, systems and management of drugs within hospitals are highly regulated and onerous. Replicating these systems pre-hospital requires detailed consideration that goes beyond checking expiry dates or keeping drug bags in the shade on hot days. Published pre-hospital literature details the issue well, however there is very little published information or data to inform the development of robust pharmacy systems. Within Careflight it has been recognised that the pre-hospital environment (particularly tropical heat) has the potential to alter or render ineffective the drugs carried on missions and significant evolution of pharmacy systems has occurred in the last 3 years.
This presentation will provide an overview of general pre-hospital pharmacy issues and challenges before detailing the specific experience at Careflight Northern Operations. A 2016 audit showed that drugs carried in a separate bag (n=5) with ice bricks (the ‘cold drugs’) spent an average of 738 hours ≥8⁰c. Subsequently, pharmacy systems were developed and new equipment and procedures implemented. These changes incorporated a relatively compact, lightweight, shipping container (esky) with a novel conditioning procedure for drugs requiring refrigeration. Data will be presented that supports and informs the contemporary operational systems used by CareFlight in the Top End of the Northern Territory.
Biography:
Tim is a flight nurse from the tropical paradise that is Nhulunbuy (Nul-un-boy).