Vancouver Island Trauma Destinations
Purpose
Currently on Vancouver Island, the catchment area for transporting a major trauma patient to a lead trauma hospital (LTH) is 40 minutes. As part of the phased rollout of the Provincial Trauma Bypass guidelines, this transport time will be extended to 90 minutes effective July 1stst 2020 to align with current evidence and best practices. This will apply to patients who meet the physiological, anatomical or mechanism criteria for major trauma when an air resource is not available, when it cannot respond due to weather or is delayed longer than the ground transport time to a lead trauma hospital. The lead trauma hospitals on Vancouver Island are:
- Victoria General Hospital (VGH) Level 2 trauma centre
- Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) Level 3 trauma centre
Scope
BCEHS paramedics, unit chiefs and managers (Island Districts), paramedic specialists, EPOS, paramedic practice educators, Victoria dispatch operations centre staff.
Policy
Patients who meet the major trauma criteria and are within 90 minutes ground transport time will be transported to a lead trauma hospital. Crews must factor weather, road conditions and traffic into their decision.
Procedure
| Area / Boundary | Primary Receiving Hospital |
|---|---|
| Port Renfrew | Victoria General Hospital |
| Lake Cowichan | Victoria General Hospital |
| South of Cedar Rd (Cassidy) | Victoria General Hospital |
| North of Cedar Rd to Black Creek | Nanaimo Regional General |
| Black Creek to Woss | North Island Hospital (CR) |
| North of Woss | Port Hardy Hospital |
| Port Alberni South of Brand Ave | Nanaimo Regional General Hospital |
| Pacific Rim Hwy North of Brand Ave to Tofino / Ucluelet junction | West Coast General |
| Tofino / Ucluelet | Tofino General Hospital |
Special Considerations
We recognize that this represents a significant change to current practice. Please familiarize yourself with the Vancouver Island Trauma Triage Algorithm and consult CliniCall for direction as needed. Please contact your paramedic practice educator or paramedic practice leader if you have any questions.
Documentation Requirements
Complete ePCR unless no patient contact is made.
Revision History
| Version | Date | Changes | Author |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2020-05-22 | Initial version | Island South Ops |