A Unified Emergency Care System from First Aid to Definitive Care

Abstract

The Unified Emergency Care System (UECS) provides an integrated system of medical support from point of injury to the time a casualty is handed over to specialist care within hospital. It enables personnel at all skill levels to deliver life-saving support to casualties with a broad range of acute injuries and illness. The UECS facilitates standardised training with each level building upon the previous, yet it retains an inherent flexibility to adapt to specific operational and service requirements.

Military Prehospital Emergency Care: defining and professionalising the levels of care provided along the Operational Patient Care Pathway

“…Morgan-Jones and Hodgetts in 19997 suggested a UK military system described as the Unified Emergency Care System to provide integrated medical support from point of injury to the time a casualty is handed over to specialist care within hospital. This paper builds upon this original work by including the advances in PHEC in place today.…”

For debate: the Operational Patient Care Pathway

“…This includes clinical care for the ‘medical’ or ‘non-trauma patient’ as well as trauma care, and also covers the specific challenges faced by the Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threat. The OPCP builds upon a concept for ‘A Unified Emergency Care System’2 and maximises existing doctrine. It uses imagery, mnemonics and other aids to learning that capture the key clinical and medical operational concepts to be taught to all members of the DMS.…”