Over 600 specialists set to meet at the Valencia Conference Centre to discuss paediatric emergencies

From 14th-16th April, the Valencia Conference Centre will be playing host to the 21st Annual Meeting of the Spanish Paediatric Emergency Society. The event will be attended by over 600 professionals including specialists working in primary health and outpatient care, medical emergency services, paediatric intensive care, and nursing, as well as resident doctors.

Valencia will thus be playing centre stage to one of the most important medical events for paediatric specialists. According to the Congress’ Chairman, and Director of the Valencian Paediatric Institute, Ignacio Manrique, “this medical meeting is a unique opportunity for multidisciplinary teams dealing with children in accident and emergency departments to update their knowledge and training, and stimulate the exchange of ideas. The location, accessibility, infrastructure and equipment on offer at the Valencia Conference Centre also add value, and make it stand out from the rest. All these factors have led us to choose the Centre as the venue for this event.”

Programme of the 21st Annual Meeting of the Spanish Paediatric Emergency Society

Over three days, the main experts in paediatric emergencies will be debating issues of major social importance, such as adolescence, handling child abuse in accident and emergency departments, oncologic emergencies, vaccinations, functional digestive disorders and pandemics. Various working groups have also been scheduled on subjects such as head injuries, infectious diseases, nursing, and analgesia and sedation.

In addition, the scientific programme will be highlighting the teaching of basic Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) techniques, given the high incidence in Spain of cases of non-hospital sudden cardiac arrests which are not the result of trauma. These represent between 24,000 and 50,000 cases per year, and over 50% of the accidental deaths take place before patients reach a hospital. The idea is to be implemented through the first paediatric Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Tournament, a pioneering initiative at paediatric level that is included in the teaching of practical and theoretical knowledge on resuscitation techniques, sponsored by the Spanish Paediatric and Neonatal CPR Group.

According to Doctor Manrique, “experience shows that this type of practical and theoretical courses are the best way to teach CPR, and it has been demonstrated that when basic CPR is started and carried out by those at the scene of the cardiac arrest, the survival rate can reach 40%. This figure falls to less than 10% when the CPR is not started until the medical team arrives”.

Similarly, other activities include role playing exercises, simulating situations in which specialists come across difficulties in their dealings with patients and their families, such as “Conveying bad news in childhood” and a Round Table entitled “Walking Together” which will bring together for the first time in one session all those involved in a serious case of paediatric emergency requiring a transfer, i.e. primary health care specialists, emergency medical care representatives, the paediatrician receiving the patient in the accident and emergency department, and the paediatric intensive care specialist.