7th International Conference on Rapid Response Systems and Medical Emergency Teams, May 2012

1/02/2012 3:46:00 PM

The conference will be useful for administrators, researchers and all health care team members involved with recognising and responding to clinical deterioration. This includes people working in areas such as critical care, emergency and general wards, rapid response, medical emergency, ICU liaison and critical care outreach, risk, quality and patient safety, resuscitation and clinical outcomes and hospital management.

Australians continue to help lead the way in revolutionising Rapid Response Systems

Sydney, Australia has been selected to host the 7th International Conference on Rapid Response Systems and Medical Emergency Teams, May 2012, to identify innovative solutions associated with recognising and responding to clinical deterioration of patients in hospitals.

Serious adverse events such as unexpected death and cardiac arrest are often preceded by observable physical and clinical irregularities. Early recognition of these signs, followed by a prompt and effective response, has been shown to minimise the occurrence of these events.

The concept of a Rapid Response System was first developed in Australia in the early 1990s and is now used in the majority of Australian, British, North American hospitals and is spreading rapidly in Europe and other parts of the world.

Dr Kenneth Hillman, Professor of Intensive Care, University of New South Wales (SWS Clinical School) and Director of The Simpson Centre for Health Services Research said “The concept is simple – instead of waiting until patients die or have a cardiac arrest during their hospital stay, they are identified using the simple chart at the end of every patient’s bed and a team of trained doctors responds urgently, exactly like, and in many cases replacing, the cardiac arrest teams.”

“Studies in Australia and overseas demonstrate that the death and cardiac arrest rate is reduced by about one third in hospitals that have a rapid response system. It’s hard to imagine any other intervention that has had such an impact on patient safety.”

The Conference, to be held on 7-9 May 2012 and auspiced by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, will explore issues associated with recognising clinical deterioration, escalating care, clinical communication, responding to clinical deterioration, organisational systems and implementation of recognition and response systems. There will also be opportunities to explore these issues in specialist areas such as paediatrics, obstetrics and mental health.

“Experts from Australia and overseas will be sharing their experience at the upcoming International Conference on Rapid Response Systems and Medical Emergency Teams” said Dr Hillman.

The conference will be useful for administrators, researchers and all health care team members involved with recognising and responding to clinical deterioration. This includes people working in areas such as critical care, emergency and general wards, rapid response, medical emergency, ICU liaison and critical care outreach, risk, quality and patient safety, resuscitation and clinical outcomes and hospital management.
With new and innovative options the 7th International Conference on Rapid Response Systems will continue its proud history of revolutionising and offering optimum solutions for greater patient safety.

For further information please go to www.rapidresponsesystems.org or to interview Dr Kenneth Hillman, please contact: Daphne Kavassilas, The Direct Edge, 0411 789 108 or daphnek@thedirectedge.com.au.