Our shift begins The telephone rings As mayhem looms A trauma comes An MVA or bullet wounds A cyclist bumped by teenage hoons Another king hit in The Cross A family close by, at a loss.
The hero Ambos do their stuff Resuscitate with little fuss Assess and treat, and cannulate Preserving life they intubate Push fluids in and stem the flow Of life’s blood draining-getting low To keep the precious cord in line A neck brace added saves the spine
The Trauma Team are calm and quick Routine to them, they’re cool and slick Maintaining breath, as flesh is crushed Some bloods are taken, fluids pushed To balance this they catheterize The body thus to stabilize If there is time they have a scan Which forms the basis of a plan
The OT Staff are primed and steady Head, chest or abdo-they’re always ready To crack a cavity with speed Depending on the patient’s need The Anaesthetic nurses rush Prime Level 1 to saline push While speedy Scout Nurse opens trays And Instrument Nurse trolley lays
The Orderlies spring into life Transfer the patient in a trice Manoeuvre in correct position On theatre bed – a swift transition Applying calf compression device And diathermy pad in place Use J-boards to protect each arm Bair Hugger added keeps him warm
Initially the room is hectic The atmosphere feels quite electric Till several surgeons gain control Clamping the artery, finding the hole
Anaesthetists ensure the basis Of the general haemostasis And as we sense that we’ve won the battle Collective pulses start to settle
In trauma centres everywhere The staff will witness this nightmare Repeat encounters day by day Can tend to fill us with dismay Reflecting on the ones we lost In time we feel a personal cost As years of this before our eyes Can doubly serve to traumatize.
But finally we must be glad Too much reflection drives us mad For when the trauma finds his voice We’re hopeful that he will rejoice And so to Rehab with less strife To recommence productive life If we can learn to help each other Reduce the stress- we too recover.
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