NETS is accustomed to this being the first step in the process. For international retrievals this process is different. Often a sub-specialist consultant has accepted the patient in a children's hospital (usually Children's Hospital @ Westmead). Note that they may have only sketchy clinical information or a fax (or both).
Otherwise an airline or charter operator may have been tasked but no arrangements yet made for a clinical escort.
In all these cases it may be prudent to review the clinical situation as if no information exists.
A conference call with the ICU consultant, sub-specialist, NETS team and CAFAT's Sydney staff may be useful.
- Contact Biomed. on call at earliest opportunity
- Select medical crew [doctor and nurse(s)]. There should be at least one individual who has international experience.
- Consider need for technical team member (for the outbound setup phase, inbound demounting phase or the whole mission)
- Passports QANTAS Executive Services (charter flights) has a copy of the staff list of NETS with relevant passport details. They need to know the names of the individual team members and should be asked to verify that those people are on their list. Updates from the secretary
- Drug carriage certificates A letter from the Therapeutic Goods and Drug Authority must accompany the medical team. Each doctor and nurse has a letter specifically written for them. Copies (NUM office). Updates from the secretary.
- Taxi voucher Since ambulances will not normally have capacity for a parent, other arrangements need to be made for a parent travelling from the airport to the destination hospital. For patients from New Caledonia, CAFAT will provide an escort for arrivals during working hours. At other times, they will provide a taxi voucher for the parent to travel from the airport to the destination hospital.
- System Power Box (DC or AC => 12 volts DC)
- Invertor (DC => 240 volts AC)
- Gas hoses (appropriate for vehicles & hospitals)
- Power cables (appropriate for vehicles & mains supply)
- Gas bottles (Air + Oxygen and numbers)
- Loading platforms
- Additional (eg. NO treatment, Healthdyne paed. ventilator)
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Last update: 4th August.2000
