The British Association for Immediate Care is now accepting abstracts for selection for both oral and poster presentation at the 2001 Annual Scientific Meeting and Conference. Click here for more information. Immediate Care is the provision of skilled medical help at the scene of an accident, medical emergency or during transportation to hospital. It consists of the recognition of resuscitation and stabilisation of the seriously injured in the pre-hospital care situation and it extends beyond the preservation of life to the prevention of complications and the relief of suffering. They are alerted by the emergency services and arrive at the incident in specially equipped cars.
Accidents are the fourth most common cause of death in the United Kingdom.
In road traffic accidents for example, the time between injury and arrival at hospital may be prolonged, perhaps because the victim is trapped or the distance from hospital is considerable.