In early September a group of emergency medicine specialists will visit Northam again to teach local doctors, nurses and paramedics more about dealing with critical illness and resuscitation.
The Emergency Medicine Education and Training Program (EMET) has been coming out to Northam, and other Wheatbelt towns for the past four years.
Four senior emergency physicians have got to know local GPs and hospital doctors and other health staff, and have recognised the very difficult job of dealing with desperately ill patients in rural and regional areas.
This EMET session deals with the high stress environment of resuscitation - dealing with patients who might easily die if they don’t receive rapid medical care. Northam and local GPs and hospital staff will learn more about resuscitation and working as a team in a high stress environment. They will face clinical teaching scenarios where quick decision making can save a life.
Next time a family or friend becomes critically ill in the Wheatbelt it might be that the doctors looking after them have been to an EMET session, and will be more confident providing the critical care needed out in the Wheatbelt.