33
ANNEXURE A
RECOMMENDATIONS IMPLEMENTATION
A. Arising from Professor
Maddern’s Report
1. Grouped and [cross]
matched blood when
requested should always be
checked as being available
prior to the commencement
of any surgical procedure.
This has been implemented.
Blood is cross matched before
any procedure where a major
vascular injury is suspected. A
recent audit showed that blood
had been grouped and held in all
cases, but cross matched in only
50% of cases. The head of
surgery reviewed this and
determined that it was appropriate
cross matching. If a request has
been made for blood to be ‘group
& held’, or cross matched, the
senior surgeon has responsibility
to check the pathology results and
ensure that it is available before
proceeding.
2. The Pathology Department
should consider the
formation of one form
suitable for blood
transfusion and general
blood requests rather than
having different forms for
different tasks.
This has not been implemented.
This is not supported by the
Pathology Department, and it
would require changing forms
across all sites in the Northern
Territory. Coroner accepts the
reasons behind not implementing
this form.
3. Anaesthetic Registrars must
be instructed of the
importance to call for
additional help at the
earliest possible time rather
than attempt to manage
situations for which two
anaesthetists would be
better than one.
This has been implemented. It is
included in a more formalized
orientation program that has been
introduced, and reiterated in the
regular education sessions held in
the department.
4. Nursing staff need to be
aware that if a second
theatre is opened a second
team need to be called in,
irrespective of the nature of
the procedure that is
thought to be conducted
This has not been implemented.
This is essentially because of
insufficient funding to support
this. There are insufficient funds
to establish a second on call team.
Instead the practice is for staff to
indicate availability over the