A/Prof. Ben Meadley1
1Ambulance Victoria, Doncaster, Australia
Biography:
Ben Meadley is a clinician and researcher with expertise in critical care, education and human performance research. Ben completed his PhD at Monash Paramedicine, investigating human performance in specialist clinical teams. He is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Paramedicine and was awarded the Ambulance Service Medal in 2023.
Abstract:
Background: For over a decade, Ambulance Victoria (AV) has carried four units of red blood cells (RBC) on each ambulance helicopter. However, weather and resourcing limitations may affect the ability to deliver RBC via helicopter. Until recently, if helicopter support was unavailable, paramedics may request blood components from a local health service. These informal processes resulted in unclear clinical guidance, wastage, lack of governance, and health services being caught off-guard regarding inventory management.
Actions: The AV Operational Improvement team collaborated with key stakeholders to standardise the procedures whereby blood components are requested from health services across Victoria. Using contemporary improvement science and project management principles, the project team worked with transfusion scientists, hospitals, chief medical officers, paramedics, and audit and governance specialists to develop systematic workflows. The new processes were designed to be user-friendly, and compliant with the National Safety and Quality Health Standards Blood Management Standard. Ad-hoc requests were replaced by formal consultation with aeromedical and retrieval service coordination staff. A flight coordinator or physician assesses each case and determines the most suitable health service to request supply of blood components, cross-referencing the statewide blood component inventory database and organising delivery to a scene.
Results and Conclusion: After successful implementation in 2023, the project team continues to apply contemporary improvement science principles to ensure that the processes evolve as required. The team has worked hard to ensure this precious resource is reserved for our most critical patients, hospital stock is preserved, and product wastage is avoided.