Helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) over-triage and the financial implications for major trauma centres in NSW, Australia.

Background: In NSW Australia, a formal trauma system including the use of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) has existed for over 20 years. Despite providing many advantages in NSW, HEMS patients are frequently over-triaged; leading to financial implications for major trauma centres that receive HEMS patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the financial implications of HEMS over-triage from the perspective of major trauma centres in NSW.

"Eat like a man". A social constructionist analysis of the role of food in men's lives.

This paper adopts a social constructionist approach to investigate the role of food in the production of identities and social experiences for men. With recognition that relational and experiential processes are central to men's lives, the purpose of the paper is to inductively explore the personal and interpersonal complexities of this group's food related behaviours. Empirical data were collected through a series of semi-structured interviews with 33 men, comprising of 4 age groups, (18-35, 36-54, 55-64, and 65+ years).

Outcomes of severely injured adult trauma patients in an Australian health service: does trauma center level make a difference?

Background: Trauma centers are designated to provide systematized multidisciplinary care to injured patients. Effective trauma systems reduce patient mortality by facilitating the treatment of injured patients at appropriately resourced hospitals. Several U.

Emergency management of the morbidly obese.

Objectives: To identify the difficulties encountered with the emergency management of morbidly obese patients and formulate recommendations to streamline care.

Methods: An English language literature search was undertaken using Medline (1966-2003) with key words 'morbid obesity' 'anaesthesia' 'imaging' 'obesity' 'emergency' 'transportation' 'retrieval' 'critical illness' and 'monitoring'. Potential articles were selected for content applicable to emergency medicine based on title and abstract and reviewed in detail.