Summary

Vital information must be shared in an accurate and timely manner between the pre-hospital and hospital practitioner to ensure early and relevant care is provided.

The use of a pre-alert facilitates continuous care of a patient on arrival to the hospital and forewarns the hospital to allow planning by means of a zero-point survey to ensure minimal disruption to the whole department and maximum immediate input for the patient.

Handover tools prevent degradation of information but must be pre-agreed between the pre-hospital and hospital teams to ensure a shared mental model.

Use of aide memoires and pre-printed handover sheets should be encouraged and developed as a whole team, involving both pre-hospital and in hospital teams.

A hands-off handover should be advocated to enhance team resource management during the handover.