Malignant Hyperthermia Training - FOI Response Register

I wish to know what awareness and training is regularly given to staff in the front line emergency departments or mobile staff ie at road side/incident locations:

1. On the recognition of the signs of Malignant Hyperthermia (MH).

See below

2. The causes of it (ie patient response to certain anaesthetics, such as Halothane, Sevoflurane, Desflurane).

All Anaesthetic staff in the Gilbert Bain Hospital were trained in triggers/ recognition/management of malignant hyperpyrexia on 24th and 25th May 2022 on the Mobile Skills Unit. As a result of this training, summarised guidelines for a number of anaesthetic emergencies including malignant hyperpyrexia are kept in all six anaesthetic machines, one of which is in the emergency department.

3. If patient’s allergy information is shared between Health Boards across Scotland and if mobile staff have access to that to alert them, ie to not administer certain anaesthetics to a patient etc.

Yes. (N/A to Mobile staff)

4. If staff are trained are to look for 'medical alert' bracelets or necklaces before any interventions.

All elective patients for anaesthesia are seen in a preoperative anaesthetic department and elective and emergency patients are seen by an anaesthetist on the day. A key component of this is enquiring about allergies and previous adverse experiences with anaesthetics, in that patient and in their relatives. Known MH is reliably identified in this process.

5. If sufficient stocks of Dantrolene vials are kept by the authority at hand to deal with any complications from a patient having a severe reaction, requiring it.

Dantrolene is kept in theatres for treatment of this emergency.  We keep the quantity suggested by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.