Arch Dis Child 1999;80:406-409 ( May )

Delphi study into planning for care of children in major incidents

Simon D Carley,^a Kevin Mackway-Jones,^a Stuart Donnan^b

^a Department of Emergency Medicine, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL, UK, ^b Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Manchester University, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK

Correspondence to: Mr Carley. email: s.carley{at}btinternet.com

Accepted 26 November 1998

This paper describes a Delphi study used to identify and improve areas of concern in the planning of care for children in major incidents. The Delphi was conducted over three rounds and used a multidisciplinary panel of 22 experts. Experts were selected to include major incident, immediate care, emergency medicine, and paediatric specialists. This paper presents a series of consensus statements that represent the Delphi group's opinion on the management of children in major incidents. The statements cover all phases of major incident planning and response. Paediatric services may play a vital role in the preparation and response to a major incident involving children. This paper represents a consensus view on how best to plan and respond to major incidents involving children. An accompanying paper describes the practical implementation of this guidance.

Key messages Children may be involved in all types of major incidents Few UK hospitals plan for the needs of children involved in a major incident Major incident planners must ensure that all acute hospitals have plans to manage a major incident involving children

Keywords: major incident; Delphi study; panel of experts; emergency medicine

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© 1999 by Archives of Disease in Childhood
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