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Emergency Care Toolkit

Overview

The WHO Emergency Care Toolkit (ECT) is an open access bundle of interventions, developed to be implemented in emergency units within hospitals, particularly in resource limited settings. The main aim of the ECT is to support systematic care of the acutely ill and injured within hospitals. These tools have been implemented in multiple resource settings and have a significant impact on morbidity and mortality. The ECT is specifically designed to utilize currently available resources to maximize health outcomes for people presenting for first contact care for emergency conditions.

The ECT consists of targeted interventions described below to address the following goals within emergency units:

Improve clinical capacity
Enhance clinical processes
Improve data collection and quality of care
Promote effective referral and counter-referral

Clinical capacity building

WHO/ICRC Basic Emergency Care

Improve care for the acutely ill and injured

The WHO/ICRC Basic Emergency Care (BEC) course provides essential training for first contact health workers in managing acute illness and injury in resource limited settings. BEC extended modules are available to guide providers caring for conflict-related injury.

Clinical process tools

Interagency Integrated Triage Tool

Resuscitation Area Designation

Emergency Care Checklist

Enhance early recognition of critical illness

The Interagency Integrated Triage Tool created by WHO, ICRC and MSF offers an objective approach to patient prioritization to save the maximum number of lives by sort patients according to acuity.

Dedicate a resuscitation space equipped with essential resources

Guidance on Resuscitation Area Designation describes a standardized approach to organizing resuscitation areas and keeping essential resources close at hand ensuring the sickest patients can rapidly receive needed care.

Use structured checklists to ensure safe and quality care

The Emergency Care Checklists are simple, evidence-based tools designed to be used in emergency units that use a structured approach to ensure key lifesaving elements are provided for critically ill medical and trauma patients.

Improving the quality of emergency care

Standardized Clinical Forms

Standardized clinical forms unite clinical documentation with streamlined data collection

The Standardized Clinical Forms assist with ease of clinical documentation in emergency units while providing a systematic data collection tool.

WHO Clinical Registry

Clinical registries provide analysis and visualisation of case-based emergency care encounters

The WHO Clinical Registry provides standardized case-based data on patient presentation and management in emergency units, allowing for comparison, aggregation and performance monitoring at facilities and across the health system.

Tools for referral and counter-referral

Acute Transfer Checklist

The Acute Transfer Checklist is used by the sending health facility team to ensure correct actions are completed during preparation of an acute care patient for transfer to a referral facility. This checklist is designed to be used with the Acute Referral Form.

Acute Referral Form

The Acute Referral Form is used by the sending health facility to document and communicate a patient’s condition and needs to a referral facility. The first part of this form is completed by the sending facility, and the final section is completed by the referral facility team upon receipt.

Counter-Referral Form

The Counter-Referral Form is a standardized instrument used by a referral facility to document and communicate a patient’s condition and need of follow-up care to the patient’s primary care facility and/or the facility that initiated the referral.

Other Tools

WHO Emergency Care Toolkit Pocket Guide

The WHO ECT Pocket Guide is meant to be rapid resource for clinicians working in emergency units. The Pocket Guide is formatted to print in smaller form so as to fold into a pocket for ease of use [size A5 - meant for double-sided printing].

Medical Resuscitation Algorithm

The Medical Resuscitation Algorithm is intended for use in the resuscitation area of emergency units. The poster integrates guidance from the WHO Basic Emergency Care course to direct timely resuscitation and onward referral for the acutely ill and injured.

Trauma Resuscitation Algorithm

The Trauma Resuscitation Algorithm is intended for use in the resuscitation area of emergency units. The poster integrates guidance from the WHO Basic Emergency Care course to direct timely resuscitation and onward referral for the acutely ill and injured.