Hospital facilities for head injured children: UK national survey.

AIM: To assess how child emergency department (ED) attendances are distributed between hospitals across England, Wales and Northern Ireland and how care is organised for children with a head injury. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was performed of the 245 hospitals in England Wales, Northern Ireland and the Crown Dependencies (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) which were eligible to participate in the enquiry from September 2009 to April 2010. The survey covered hospital details, departments and procedures, ED activity, imaging, admission and discharge procedures, referral and transfer, documentation, training and audit, information and advice, and non-accidental head injuries. RESULTS: 64% of hospitals have an established pathway for management of head injured children. Not infrequently hospitals asserting designation as specialist trauma or specialist neurosurgical centres do not offer an intensive care service for children. 82% of child ED attendances are to hospitals that would not care for a critically ill child on-site. Hospitals that do offer such care are much more likely to have children's trained staff available in the ED. They are also more likely to have access to surgical support beyond neurosurgery. CONCLUSION: Given the extent of variation between hospitals in the facilities available for head injured children, further comparative studies into the standards of care delivered and outcomes (including a confidential enquiry) are indicated.

Improvement in neonatal intensive care unit care: a cluster randomised controlled trial of active dissemination of information.

BACKGROUND: Research findings are not rapidly or fully implemented into policies and practice in care. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether an 'active' strategy was more likely to lead to changes in policy and practice in preterm baby care than traditional information dissemination. DESIGN: Cluster randomised trial. PARTICIPANTS: 180 neonatal units (87 active, 93 control) in England; clinicians from active arm units; babies born <27 weeks gestation. CONTROL ARM: Dissemination of research report; slides; information about newborn care position statement. ACTIVE ARM: As above plus offer to become 'regional 'champion' (attend two workshops, support clinicians to implement research evidence regionally), or attend one workshop, promote implementation of research evidence locally. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: timing of surfactant administration; admission temperature; staffing of resuscitation team present at birth. RESULTS: 48/87 Lead clinicians in the active arm attended one or both workshops. There was no evidence of difference in post-intervention policies between trial arms. Practice outcomes based on babies in the active (169) and control arms (186), in 45 and 49 neonatal units respectively, showed active arm babies were more likely to have been given surfactant on labour ward (RR=1.30; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.70); p=0.06); to have a higher temperature on admission to neonatal intensive care unit (mean difference=0.29(o)C; 95% CI 0.22 to 0.55; p=0.03); and to have had the baby's trunk delivered into a plastic bag (RR=1.27; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.60; p=0.04) than the control group. The effect on having an 'ideal' resuscitation team at birth was in the same direction of benefit for the active arm (RR=1.18; 95% CI 0.97 to 1.43; p=0.09). The costs of the intervention were modest. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first trial to evaluate methods for transferring information from neonatal research into local policies and practice in England. An active approach to research dissemination is both feasible and cost-effective. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current controlled trials ISRCTN89683698.

Ambulance provision for children: a UK national survey.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this national survey of UK ambulance services was to provide an up-to-date assessment of service provision for children in the prehospital setting and to identify the challenges faced in providing optimal services to this group. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to clinical directors of the 16 UK NHS ambulance services in April 2009. RESULTS: Questionnaires were returned by 13 (81%) respondents. Paramedics and most emergency medical technicians receive a limited amount of paediatric training. An increasing amount of equipment suitable for children is becoming available, but services for children vary depending on location. For example, paediatric airway adjuncts (short of intubation) were often lacking, and only 62% reported having pulse oximetry suitable for use in children. Four or the 13 respondents (31%) considered it 'possible or highly likely' that someone with no specific training could be the first to respond to a child in an emergency, and seven (54%) indicated that the likelihood that the first response to a child could be someone with no current qualification specific to paediatrics was 'high'. There are large areas of the country where no formal medical support is available at any time of day. CONCLUSIONS: Despite improvements, paediatric care by front-line personnel is limited by resource and availability of staff with key skills. Accepted standards are often lacking. Collaborative audit, research and training initiatives should be carried out between services and acute trusts to meet local service requirements. This will reduce variation and maintain the safety of patients and quality of care.

The BLISS cluster randomised controlled trial of the effect of 'active dissemination of information' on standards of care for premature babies in England (BEADI) study protocol [ISRCTN89683698].

BACKGROUND: Gaps between research knowledge and practice have been consistently reported. Traditional ways of communicating information have limited impact on practice changes. Strategies to disseminate information need to be more interactive and based on techniques reported in systematic reviews of implementation of changes. There is a need for clarification as to which dissemination strategies work best to translate evidence into practice in neonatal units across England. The objective of this trial is to assess whether an innovative active strategy for the dissemination of neonatal research findings, recommendations, and national neonatal guidelines is more likely to lead to changes in policy and practice than the traditional (more passive) forms of dissemination in England. METHODS/DESIGN: Cluster randomised controlled trial of all neonatal units in England (randomised by hospital, n = 182 and stratified by neonatal regional networks and neonatal units level of care) to assess the relative effectiveness of active dissemination strategies on changes in local policies and practices. Participants will be mainly consultant lead clinicians in each unit. The intervention will be multifaceted using: audit and feedback; educational meetings for local staff (evidence-based lectures on selected topics, interactive workshop to examine current practice and draw up plans for change); and quality improvement and organisational changes methods. Policies and practice outcomes for the babies involved will be collected before and after the intervention. Outcomes will assess all premature babies born in England during a three month period for timing of surfactant administration at birth, temperature control at birth, and resuscitation team (qualification and numbers) present at birth.