The response to the mechanism of injury (injury prevention)

The response to the mechanism of injury (injury prevention)

• Not infrequently , two or more patients are seen who have been injured in the same geographical area by the same mecha - nism. A possible scenario is that, over a period of a few weeks, several patients are noted to present with a fall of 2–3 metres - in the same location, for example from a particular bridge. Further investigation might establish tha t the bridge is easy to access, perhaps because of damage to safety measures. With appropriate steps the damage can be rectified and access to the - bridge limited, preventing further harm. In this example, the surgeon is involved in both the treatment and the prevention of injury . Therefore, when a mechanism of injury becomes more frequent and is associated with serious life-threatening trauma, it is essential to take steps either to eliminate the mechanism or to lessen the consequences. - Summary box 26.9 Planning an individual operation te /uni25CF - /uni25CF /uni25CF - The issue of injury prevention is an important consider - ation not only for clinicians but also for other stakeholders, for example politicians (developing appropriate legislation relevant to road safety), manufacturers (optimising the safety of cars) and the construction industry . This accounts for the improvements in safety that can be achieved.

Adequate preoperative planning is essential to eliminate unnecessary delays Document the plan to ensure no important parameter is left out A whiteboard can be used to demonstrate the order of plan execution and to act as a means of communication among staff