One of the responsibilities of the Emergency Department where I used to work was to attend medical emergencies (or ‘codes’) elsewhere in the hospital. We would dispatch a medical emergency team (known as a MET team), comprising a senior doctor and nurse. When their pager goes off they respond by pushing this rather big trolley known as a crash-cart (for reasons that will soon become … Continue reading Why medical teams WALK to an emergency.

He was a big man. In the midst of a big code. And he was in big trouble. We needed to move this man from the MRI table back onto his bed in a real quick hurry. To do this we would use a large rectangular plastic spatula known as a PatSlide. Described as a “thick semi flexible thermoplastic material with 12 longitudinal ridges on … Continue reading The PAT slide.