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(07) 3105 7800
Turrbal and Jagera Country
Level 4, 348 Edward Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
When a critically ill child is transferred from a rural area to a tertiary hospital, early care decisions make a big difference. That’s why practical, hands-on training is so valuable in helping rural GPs build confidence to manage these high-pressure moments.
We spoke with Dr Kate Bassett, lead facilitator for the Emergency Paediatrics Workshop and a paediatric emergency specialist at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane—one of the key centres receiving critically ill children from rural areas. She shared her insights into the real challenges rural clinicians face and how targeted, practical training can make a lasting impact.
HWQ: As a specialist working closely with rural doctors, what gaps in paediatric emergency care do you see most often when rural patients arrive at your hospital?
Kate: I think the gap between rural and metropolitan paediatric emergency services has been closed considerably by the availability of comprehensive paediatric emergency guidelines and improved access to advice from retrieval services. However, inevitably there are occasional errors due to lack of familiarity with paediatric resuscitation principles and of course paediatric dosing. Sometimes difficulties occur due to lack of paediatric specific equipment. Another challenge we sometimes face with paediatric patients, despite having excellent stabilisation rurally, is they may experience extended delays in transfer and then some of their ongoing management is missed.
HWQ: How does this workshop help rural doctors improve early care that can make a big difference for paediatric patients?
Kate: I think the first challenge is to help build confidence as so many practitioners are worried about treating sick children primarily due to limited exposure. Workshops like this foster a supportive network of paediatric care practitioners providing ongoing learning and advice. The dedicated education time strengthens practical skills and familiarity with the resources available to help.
HWQ: Can you share a memorable case where early intervention by a rural doctor positively impacted a child’s outcome once they arrived at your hospital?
Kate: Not a specific case, but there are now lots of examples of the child with wheeze who arrives at a rural setting in extremis. Clinical guidelines are widely available and adhered to well, so children receive oxygen supplementation, beta agonists and steroids early. If they do not respond quickly, phone advice is available to consider high flow, IM adrenaline or IV salbutamol / aminophylline. I can’t remember the last time any of these children arrived still requiring resuscitation. All of the critical initial interventions can be done by the rural team and this nearly always negates the need for intubation.
HWQ: How do you ensure the workshop content addresses the realities and limitations rural doctors face in remote settings?
Kate: Firstly, most faculty members have experience of working in rural settings, understand the challenges and are keen to help provide education in this area. We focus on drugs and interventions that are accessible everywhere. We run small group and discussion-based sessions, allowing us to adapt content to the needs of each group. Feedback from our evaluation forms is routinely reviewed and applied to the program. Most importantly, the focus of the teaching is not about increasing academic knowledge of individual conditions but by increasing knowledge of the resources available to get help and further information when needed.
HWQ: What practical tools and skills from the workshop do you believe are most crucial for rural GPs to manage paediatric emergencies confidently on the ground?
Kate: Firstly, we make sure everyone is signed off for paediatric BLS. Then we run through other skills, including neonatal resuscitation and paediatric venous access. We also talk through cases involving ALS principles like use of inotropes and management of SVT. This is the stuff everyone worries about but in reality, paediatric resuscitation is incredibly rare. So, we spend quite a lot of time talking about common presentations and their management – everything from wheeze and fever to abdominal pain and head injuries. We even give some tips and tricks for paediatric procedural sedation and removal of foreign bodies!!
HWQ: Thank you for your time, Kate! See you at the workshop!
The Emergency Paediatric Workshop taking place in Brisbane on the 8-9 November, isn’t about turning GPs into specialists—it’s about equipping rural doctors with the confidence, capability, and skills to act when it matters most.
Early bird registration is closing soon—secure your spot now and feel more prepared, no matter what the day brings.
Register via the button below – Early Bird ends 15 August
Pictured: Dr Kate Bassett, Emergency Paediatric Specialist,
and Lead Facilitator at the Emergency Paediatrics Workshop
