Dr Charlotte Harper1,2, Ms Clare Hargan1, Dr Christina Harry1,3
1Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval Service (ScotSTAR), 2Children’s Emergency Department, Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, 3Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Royal Hospital for Children
Biography:
Charlotte Harper is a Paediatric Emergency Consultant at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and also a Paediatric Retrieval Consultant at ScotSTAR in Glasgow. She trained in London and Brighton and also spent two years working at Starship Children’s Hospital in both the PICU and Children’s Emergency Department.
Abstract:
Aims: Transporting time critical head injuries in remote & rural Scotland involves effective decision making & often challenging logistics. The purpose of this study was to describe the Scottish National Paediatric Retrieval Team’s experience of transporting paediatric head injuries with the aim of improving guidance & service delivery.
Methods: This was a retrospective review of paediatric head injury referrals to ScotSTAR between April 2021 and February 2025. A total of 44 patient retrieval episodes were analysed using an online database. Data analysed included the distance travelled, duration of retrieval, transport modality, ventilatory support & logistical challenges encountered.
Results: The total number of head injury retrievals during the time period was 44. Of these retrievals 6.8% were fixed wing; 29.5% rotary and 63.7% road transfers. Of the time critical transfers 79.6% were performed by local teams & 20.4% by ScotSTAR. Of the retrieved patients 20% were invasively ventilated and 80% were self-ventilating. The mean distance travelled was 83 miles. Logistical challenges encountered included adverse weather conditions, aircraft and transport team unavailability.
Conclusions: Understanding the challenges faced can help guide resources for the retrieval of time critical head injuries & optimise pathways. The challenges described are not unique to Scotland & the learning points from this study useful to other remote & rural retrieval services globally.