EpiPen/Shutterstock
Patients at risk of anaphylaxis are now able to carry and use their EpiPens at all Victorian hospitals.
The new ‘Anaphylaxis clinical care standard’ guidelines from Safer Care Victoria outline how patients aged 16 and over with anaphylaxis are managed, treated and cared for in Victorian hospitals.
Based on evidence and coronial findings, and developed by a panel of experts, clinicians and consumers, the new guidelines including staff handouts, clinical management cards, a check list and patient/family handouts.
‘To save lives, we are making sure all hospitals are treating people at risk of anaphylaxis consistently. That means ensuring patients can carry their EpiPen and get their adrenaline as fast as possible’, said Jenny Mikakos, Minister for Health.
The number of people going to hospital with anaphylaxis is increasing by 15 per cent on average every year. Between 2012-13 and 2016-17, there were 9,328 emergency department presentations with anaphylaxis.
New laws requiring all Victorian hospitals to report cases of potentially fatal anaphylaxis came into force on 1 November.
