New portable ultrasound supports safer and faster care in the PED

A new portable ultrasound machine has recently arrived in the Paediatric Emergency Department in the Royal Hospital for Children, thanks to generous funding from the Sir Reo Stakis Charitable Foundation and delivered through Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

The new equipment is expected to allow clinicians to incorporate real-time imaging at the bedside to help support making faster and safer decisions for presenting to the Emergency Department, with the aim to improve the overall care for patients and to reduce their length of stay.

Offering a more user-friendly experience for staff, the new ultrasound machine has replaced the older, heavier equipment that previously existed within the department.

“We previously had an older machine which had run its course, and it wasn’t functioning as we needed it to. No one really used it in this department because it wasn’t user friendly. The newer machine is built more for what we needed in the Emergency Department. It’s very portable, has a battery, is very easy to move around, and so much more useful to grab and go. It makes life a lot easier.”

Nigel Chan, ST8 PEM Grid Trainee

The improved ease of use allows point-of-care ultrasound to be used more often for the assessment and examination of patients within the Paediatric Emergency Department. It is a quick, safe, painless and radiation free imaging modality which can provide vital information for a wide range of conditions from the most serious - such as internal bleeding or a collapsed lung - to more common presentations like wrist and elbow injuries.

“This ultrasound machine is a way to get more information when we’re seeing patients that are in Accident and Emergency for lots of different reasons. The benefit this has over other imaging modalities like x-ray is that there’s no radiation involved, so it’s completely safe. For kids, it’s not painful or sore. It’s quick and easy.”

Nigel Chan

The Emergency Department hope that the introduction of the new machine will allow them to replicate processes in local adult hospitals.

“In the adults Accident and Emergency, they use ultrasound a lot more as part of their kind of day-to-day. There are good opportunities to put ourselves on the map and be leaders in the field for using ultrasound in Paediatric Accident and Emergency.”

Nigel Chan

The generous funding for the new equipment comes from the Sir Reo Stakis Charitable Foundation.

“The Trustees of the Sir Reo Stakis Charitable Foundation are delighted to fund the new high-definition ultrasound scanner for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital ED. It will enhance the detection of disease through improved diagnostics which is to be welcomed.”

The Sir Reo Stakis Charitable Foundation

In partnership with The Sir Reo Stakis Charitable Foundation, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity is proud to continue making a difference for the children and young people treated in Scotland’s busiest children’s hospital.