The ABC of community emergency care: 2 The system of assessment and care of the primary survey positive patient

mergency situations cause stress, especially if they are unfamiliar or present new and different challenges. Specific life threatening medical emergencies may only be experienced by most practitioners a few times in their career 1 2 and even experienced clinicians require training and practice to maintain confidence and skills. Using a system of care and assessment will improve consistency. This article aims to set out a system of assessment for the patient with emergency care needs. It can only offer a framework, proper application will require training, flexibility, common sense, and experience.