Sorry Business

Today it is decided to close the clinic except for emergency cases for respectful cultural reasons. The pt who died was an Elder. In the morning I get time to do the i-stat training so I can use the machine that does point of care blood tests. There are a couple of children that are sick and need to be seen so I get to do those consults with the help of my RE. It's very confronting as I am not a paediatric nurse so unfamiliar with really sick kids, looking in ears etc. The CARPA manual is the bible we stick to for examinations and treatment without a doctors consult - it also tells you when to get advice from a doctor. That could be the GP at the clinic during work hours or the DMO via phone at Alice Springs.
At 5 pm we get a "frequent flyer, worry kid" who is sick. The GP thinks she needs to go to Alice Springs so she talks to the DMO and they decide to fly her and her mother down. We have to wait until 5 am in the end as it is non-urgent and there are 3 sick flyouts to do from Tennant Creek first. We try to get a bit of sleep in between calls through the night about the latest ETA etc. Just before the plane comes in we have to do a strip check in the ambulance and then get the mum and babe from her home as she decided to go home to get some sleep.Read more