HSA’s statement regarding response to life-threatening emergencies

The Health Services Authority (HSA) Emergency Medical Service (EMS) & Accident & Emergency (A&E) Department provide emergency care throughout the three islands.

The HSA’s A&E Department provides full capabilities of service comparable to a Level 1 Trauma Centre in any major medical facility in the UK, US or Canada including the capacity to deal with mass casualty and disaster situations, multi-trauma, domestic violence, and sexual assault. It also has the capacity to deal with patients with mental health issues, infectious diseases or who are immunocompromised.

HSA Medical Director, Dr Delroy Jefferson stated, “Historically, the HSA has been the only national provider of life-threatening multi-trauma emergency care in the Cayman Islands. HSA has always welcomed efforts by other health care providers capable and willing to play a role in filling any identified gaps in emergency care. For many years there has been and still is a collaborative approach between HSA and Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI) to coordinate emergency medical patient transfers based on the patient’s medical condition.”

The HSA’s EMS service is dispatched by 911 to respond to emergency calls. The EMS team of pre-hospital care professionals provide assessment, treatment and transport of the patient to A&E. Throughout the event, the EMS team communicates with the medical control team (HSA Emergency Physician) in the A&E Department.

Based on the clinical assessment (e.g. specific cardio-thoracic emergencies) patients are diverted to Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI) by the HSA EMS team in consultation with the HSA A&E Physicians. This transport protocol requires communication with HCCI to advise them of the patient’s clinical needs. These life-threatening emergencies do not require the Chief Medical Officer approval prior to the ambulance being diverted to HCCI.