Bagging success with new standardised transfer kits

In a bid to enhance patient safety and streamline critical care transfers, East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) has unveiled a standardised inter-hospital patient transfer bag across all its sites.

Led by the Office of the Executive Director of Medical Services and funded by the New Technology Evaluation Committee (NTEC), the initiative commenced last week following consultation with medical and nursing staff across EMHS’ Emergency and Intensive Care departments as well as collaboration with St John WA.

The primary objective behind the introduction of these standardised bags is to ensure uniformity in the equipment carried by clinicians during critical care transfers and the location where the bag is stored – no matter the hospital site.

Previously all sites used different transport bags, which could cause delays to patient treatment enroute if escorting staff weren’t familiar with the bag and its contents, as they worked across multiple emergency departments.

The rigorous development process for the new bags included two rounds of testing in 2023 and earlier this year, which focused on whether the bags posed any hazards during transit.

The road-testing phase, conducted in operational St John Ambulance WA vans, garnered positive feedback from metro paramedics, affirming the effectiveness and utility of the standardised bags in real-world scenarios.

Armadale Health Service (AHS) Emergency Department Consultant Dr Stuart McLay has been integral to the roll-out of the bags.

“As a clinician who often escorts critically ill patients here at AHS, we welcome this new standardised process that will improve transport efficiency and safety, which is a top priority during any patient transfer,” Stuart said.

EMHS Executive Director of Medical Services Grant Waterer acknowledged the collaborative effort involved in bringing this initiative to fruition.

"While this may seem like a simple thing, having some standardised bags of equipment to make transferring patients easier and safer has required an enormous amount of effort and coordination between all sites." Grant said, extending his gratitude to all staff who have contributed to the successful implementation of this patient safety initiative.