- What is Prolonged Casualty Care?
- Why is it needed?
- What’s this about a Hitman?
Prolonged Field Care (PFC) is a concept developed by the military, specifically special forces, for situations where extraction and evacuation may be delayed. It is primarily focused on addressing the challenges faced during extended periods of time during the prehospital phase:
“Field medical care applied beyond doctrinal planning timelines to decrease patient mortality and morbidity.
Prolonged field care uses limited resources and is sustained until the patient arrives at the next appropriate level of care.”
Defense Health Agency
In the context of UK civilian practice, patients are experiencing longer wait times in ambulances due to overcrowded hospitals and in rural settings experience long transport times. Therefore, it might be time to adopt the principles of Prolonged Field Care (PFC) or Prolonged Casualty Care (PCC) in civilian settings.
The HITMAN acronym is widely used as a framework for comprehensive PCC assessments and interventions. Each letter represents a key element that should be addressed when providing care to patients over an extended period of time.
Read more HERE
The “N” in HITMAN stands for nursing care…
…if only there was a handy aide mémoire to guide non-nursing clinicians through the essential components of nursing care….
Watch this space…
Read in full HERE
This article was also discussed in the Resus Room podcast
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