team leader

Last reviewed 01/2018

The team leader has overall responsibility for the patient. This entails:

• prior to the patient's arrival: - ensures that there are sufficient skills readily available and that senior staff are notified if they are likely to be needed - assigns individual tasks to team members

• reception of patient: - the exact mechanism of injury and any changes in vital signs since the injury, especially conscious level, should be recorded.

• primary survey: - review resuscitation - help team members who are having difficulties - call senior help if needed
• resuscitation procedure: - organise essential investigations, i.e. chest, lateral, cervical, spine and pelvic radiograph.

• secondary survey: - the team leader must ensure that all elements of the secondary survey are covered.

• hand-over: - the team leader should ensure that the patient is stable, and be confident that all the basic resuscitation measures have been carried out. - there should be full documentation of the resuscitation - personally hand-over the patient - be prepared to talk to relatives