This is my latest and probably my last project to improve the ergonomy and functioning of the bráðamóttaka : the “Traumaborðið” (the trauma cart).

The idea is simple and yet quite good.

We take what exists and bring it in an eye-candy and ergonomical format.

Very IKEAish idea.

Instead of running around during a trauma asking for X equipment, and don’t forget to take Y, but the Y that is long, not the short one. And yeah, I need sterile gloves. Please don’t forget the large sterile kit for procedures. What do you mean you don’t know where it is? And please, can someone find me a procedure cart where I can gather everything. Please don’t bring the small one that we can’t lock the wheels, because, even though the floor looks straight, trust me, it is not.

The initial drawings of the ER at the Landspítali were to keep the Trauma equipment in the corner of the A:Akút and this is where we would receive traumas. But the real life challenge has proven that it failed. We receive traumas in other resuscitation bays and do procedures there and even in private rooms (i.e. mass casualty).

Instead of ending up in these situations, we decided to opt for a nice and fancy Swiss-made large cart that contains everything to deal with 95%+ of the traumas.

It has everything to do the procedures, from A to Z. That means :

• A nice table you can pull on the side to have a large area to work on
• Everything to clean and be sterile
• Stuff for sutures, staples, chest tubes, tourniquets, pelvic binders, Pigtails, SAM splints, chest drainage system
• Burn dressings with Lund and Browder chart to estimate burn-size for adults and children
• Various dressings to close the loop of the procedure

It is a large cart but rolls very well because of some nicely oiled wheels.

When I push it around I definitely feel I am on a mission.

We decided not to keep Thoracotomy kit in because they are quite large, and mostly because… we are in Iceland (not much penetrating traumatic cardiac arrest going on here). You can still find them in the Trauma corner of the A:Akút. We will keep trauma shelf in there for now.

Drawers, from top to bottom drawers :

Have a look at it, open the drawers, drag it along during traumas and please bring back some comments.

Njóttu vel!

And have a nice Icelandic summer!