Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

I work in general dental prac- tice in Nottingham and we recently had a major medi- cal emergency in which we had to use our recently purchased Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). The following is a case study to highlight the impor- tance of having such a device in your practice. CASE STUDY: It was a normal working day in the practice but was extremely busy. Reception is usually staffed by three receptionists but due to illness was reduced to only two. As a consequence, queues were often forming and the staff were overwhelmed. It was at such a time that patient S arrived for his appointment; a long standing pa- tient who is 84 years old was due for his check up and an appoint- ment with the hygienist (case study author). The patient has a complex medical history and amongst other medications takes Warfarin and has a pace-maker fitted. Whilst he was in the queue patient S collapsed and this was noticed by the reception team. The practice emergency protocol immediately swung into action and all patients waiting in the queue were po- litely moved into the waiting room and the patients’ examin- ing GDP was called as he had no patients in the chair at this time. The reception team split up to collect emergency equip- ment, oxygen and our newly acquired AED as well as ask- ing patients who were waiting for an appointment to leave the practice as there was an inci- dent and that we would contact shortly to re-arrange. Of course, a 999 call was made to summon the expert assistance of para- medics. The patient was initially showing signs of life but these disappeared as time moved on; the decision was made, after assessment, that the patient re- quired Basic Life Support and it was at this time that the further decision was made to attach the AED pads. After carrying out a few cycles of Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) the pads of the AED were attached to the pa- tient and switched on. The AED will automatically assess the pa- tient and if the required, it will shock the patient and then reas- sess as well as give instructions on when to continue with CPR. After the first shock, the AED instructed the treating team to continue with CPR which they did and were, a short while later, instructed to stand clear The Shocking Reality Shaun Howe RDH recalls a medical emergency that was not a drill... ‘The reception team split up to collect emergency equip- ment, oxygen and our newly acquired AED as well as ask- ing patients who were waiting for an appointment to leave the practice as there was an incident’ October 22 - 28, 201210 Feature United Kingdom Edition For more information or to place an order in the UK please call 0800 169 9692 or in Ireland please call +44 1438 245000 email sales.uk.csd@carestream.com or visit www.carestreamdental.co.uk © Carestream Dental Ltd., 2012. features of Cs r4 R4 Mobile Direct link to PIN pad Patient Check-in Kiosk Care Pathways Communicator Steritrak E-Forms Patient Journey On-line Appointment Booking Text Message and Email reminders Clinical Notes Appointment Book Digital X-Ray Managed Service Practice Accounts At the heart of your practice CSR4Clinical+ PracticeManagementSoftware Working with you CS R4 Clinical+ practice management software is constantly working to help your practice function as smoothly and efficiently as possible. From text messaging, email patient reminders and easier appointment booking to improved clinical notes and closer integration of digital imaging services. CS R4 Clinical+ also incorporates elements to help explain your treatment proposals and effortlessly increase patient acceptance. Then when you’ve closed for the day CS R4 Clinical+ goes on working, backing up your data, updating your software and preparing your system for the next working day. As the demands on the modern dental practice grow CS R4 Clinical+ helps you to grow with them and to flourish even in the most difficult times. In fact, CS R4 Clinical+ is central to the success of every modern practice. NEW AutoPost NEW eForms