Mater Children's Hospital Emergency Department serves the Brisbane South population from the neonatal period through to adolescence (the upper age limit being 18), providing a 24-hour service for the acutely ill or injured patient. As a tertiary paediatric hospital and the designated Paediatric Trauma Hospital for Brisbane South, the department also accepts transfers from peripheral urban hospitals. The department has a close working relationship with the Department of Radiology and with Paediatric ICU.
Staffing
Department Director, Clinical Nurse Consultant and Staff Specialist.
VMO Sessions
Six paediatric sessions per week.
Senior Cover
The combination of full and part-time senior cover provides direct supervision seven days per week between the hours of 8 am to 11 pm and remote cover at other times.
Registrars
Two emergency medicine trainees and one paediatric trainee make up the complement of registrars at any one time, covering the department from 8 am to 11 pm. They supervise nine resident medical staff ranging in experience from intern to fourth year residents. Duties include departmental management, procedural supervision, daily results audit and supervision of junior medical staff. Most of the night cover is provided by a separate relieving registrar pool.
Nursing Staff
There are clinical registered and enrolled nurses, all with extensive experience in and commitment to the management of the ill or injured child and their family.
Teaching
There is a high level of commitment to ongoing teaching in Mater Children's Hospital Emergency Department which includes:
- the provision of on-floor consultant supervision seven days a week
- on call senior emergency staff from 8 am to 11 pm weekends
- fortnightly mock emergency scenarios and debrief skills training for the whole department
- weekly protected registrar training afternoons (scenario, tutorial, and unit meeting)
- support for individual training needs
- registrar involvement in departmental auditing, policy development and unit meetings
- support for attendance at Paediatric Life Support training programs.