Children and young people account for a quarter of all patients treated in emergency departments in the UK, with three million children attending emergency departments every year. Emergency Care of Children and Young People prepares practitioners for the challenges of caring for children in emergency departments. Children requiring emergency care have unique and differing needs and may not respond or cooperate during an initial assessment as an adult would. Emergency Care of Children and Young People is an essential reference for all health care professionals working with children in the emergency department setting. It explores the key skills needed for effective care and presents the evidence which underpins effective practice in an accessible and informative format. Emergency Care of Children and Young People covers a complete range of topics including legal and ethical aspects, minor injuries, major trauma, effective ways to communicate with children through the use of play and distraction, meningitis and resuscitation.

Karen Cleaver is Head of Department, Family Care and Mental Health and Principal Lecturer Children’s Nursing, at the University of Greenwich.

Janet Webb is Professional Lead Child Health & Welfare and Programme Leader for the PG Cert in Child Protection in the Department of Family Care and Mental Health at the University of Greenwich.

Contributors	p. viii
Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xii
Table of Cases	p. xiii
Table of Statutes	p. xiv
Setting the Scene: The Context of Emergency Care for Children and Young People	p. 1
Children and family life in the UK	p. 1
Children's health and well-being	p. 1
Legislative and policy context	p. 2
Emergency services for children	p. 2
References	p. 5
Principles of Emergency Care for Children and Young People	p. 8
Introduction	p. 8
The principles of assessing children	p. 8
Conclusion	p. 13
References	p. 14
Legal and Ethical Emergency Care of Children	p. 15
Introduction	p. 15
Article 2: The right to life	p. 17
Article 3: The right to humane treatment	p. 19
Article 5: The right to freedom	p. 21
Article 8: The right to privacy	p. 23
Article 9: The right to freedom of thought	p. 27
Article 10: The right to freedom of expression	p. 28
Article 14: The right not to be discriminated against	p. 30
Conclusion	p. 30
References	p. 30
Useful websites	p. 31
Safeguarding and Protecting Children: The Roles and Responsibilities of the Emergency Care Practitioner	p. 32
Introduction - child protection work - prevention and early intervention	p. 32
Constituents of abuse	p. 35
Recognition and response	p. 37
Recognition, risk indicators and intervention	p. 37
Children of concern or risk indicators	p. 38
Recognising physical abuse	p. 39
Burns and scalds	p. 40
Recognising emotional abuse	p. 40
Recognising sexual abuse	p. 41
Recognising neglect	p. 42
The unborn child	p. 42
The legislative framework	p. 42
Contemporary policy and legislation	p. 43
The Children Act 2004	p. 43
Assessment issues in child protection and implications for emergency care practitioners	p. 44
Assessment and the Common Assessment Framework	p. 44
Professional responsibility and response - frequently asked questions	p. 45
Summary of key points	p. 52
Conclusion	p. 52
References	p. 52
Meeting the Specific Needs of Young People Attending the Emergency Department	p. 55
Introduction	p. 55
Adolescence and health care	p. 55
Substance misuse	p. 57
Alcohol	p. 58
Sexual health and emergency contraception	p. 62
Young people who self harm	p. 64
Conclusion	p. 67
References	p. 67
Treatment and Management of Minor Injuries	p. 70
Introduction	p. 70
The principles of assessing children with minor injuries	p. 70
Specific injuries	p. 71
Example patient group directive for the management of minor head injuries within a minor injuries unit	p. 71
Wound management in the emergency department	p. 74
Tetanus	p. 75
Wound cleansing - some general principles	p. 76
Wound closure - some general principles	p. 76
Cuts and lacerations	p. 76
Bites	p. 77
Abrasions	p. 78
Minor burns and scalds	p. 79
Foreign bodies	p. 82
Ears and noses	p. 84
Insect bites and stings	p. 85
Anaphylaxis	p. 85
Bruises and haematomas	p. 87
Soft tissue injuries	p. 87
Fractures	p. 88
X-ray	p. 90
Management of specific fractures	p. 91
Summary and conclusion	p. 94
References	p. 95
The Principles of Assessment and Management of Pain in Children and Young People Attending an Emergency Department	p. 99
Introduction	p. 99
Definitions of pain	p. 99
What is pain?	p. 100
Pain transmission	p. 101
Theories of pain	p. 102
Children in the emergency department	p. 103
Pain and its assessment	p. 104
The challenge of managing pain with paediatric patients	p. 106
Non-pharmacological methods	p. 107
Pharmacological management of pain	p. 108
Conclusion	p. 108
References	p. 109
Emergency Care of the Critically Ill or Seriously Injured Child	p. 111
Introduction	p. 111
Rapid assessment of ABCD	p. 112
The seriously injured child in accident and emergency	p. 118
Stabilisation, retrieval and transfer	p. 125
Summary	p. 125
References	p. 125
Paediatric Resuscitation	p. 127
Introduction	p. 127
Definitions	p. 127
Why are children different?	p. 127
Anatomy and physiology of the respiratory tract	p. 128
Pathways leading to cardiac arrest in children	p. 130
Basic life support	p. 131
When to go for help	p. 133
Foreign body obstruction sequence	p. 133
Advanced life support	p. 134
Intra-osseous access	p. 136
Heat loss	p. 137
Post-resuscitation care	p. 137
Exposure	p. 138
Care of the family	p. 138
When to terminate resuscitation	p. 138
Equipment	p. 138
Newborn resuscitation	p. 139
Useful guesstimates	p. 140
Pre-terminal signs	p. 140
Four H's and Four T's	p. 140
Key points	p. 140
Bereavement	p. 141
Conclusion	p. 141
Appendix 1	p. 142
References	p. 143
Emergency Care and Management of Children with Acute Respiratory Illness	p. 145
Introduction	p. 145
The anatomy and physiology of the respiratory tract in infants and children	p. 145
Respiratory assessment and examination of the chest	p. 147
Respiratory problems that may be encountered in the accident and emergency department	p. 147
Upper respiratory tract problems	p. 148
Lower respiratory tract problems	p. 149
Inhaled street drugs	p. 151
Conclusion	p. 152
References	p. 153
The Assessment and Management of Paediatric Fever in the Emergency Setting	p. 155
Introduction	p. 155
Fever phobia	p. 155
Physiological aspects of fever	p. 156
Bacterial meningitis	p. 157
Temperature taking	p. 157
Fever management	p. 158
Conclusion	p. 158
References	p. 160
Emergency Care of Children with Sickle Cell Disease: One Family's Experience	p. 162
Introduction	p. 162
Pain	p. 164
Fever	p. 164
Anaemia	p. 164
'Sickling'	p. 165
Splenic sequestration	p. 165
Aplastic crisis	p. 165
Priapism	p. 165
Dactylitis	p. 165
Osteomyelitis	p. 165
Enuresis	p. 166
Ulcers	p. 166
The parental perspective	p. 166
Acknowledgement	p. 168
References	p. 169
Further reading	p. 170
Emergency Care of Children and Young People with Diabetic Ketoacidosis	p. 171
Pathophysiology of Type 1 diabetes	p. 171
Causes of diabetic ketoacidosis	p. 172
Conclusion	p. 175
References	p. 175
Index	p. 177
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.