CPR Kids shares an important reminder to parents about Ryan’s Rule and how to enforce it in your state.
Sarah Hunstead started CPR Kids because as a paediatric nurse, she knows that what a parent or carer does to help their sick or injured child in the minutes before an ambulance arrives, can directly impact the health outcome of their child.
Sarah realised that a little knowledge, and confidence to act, could make all the difference. So Sarah set out to empower every adult to be able to respond in an emergency, and know they have done everything they could in the moment.
They recently shared a reminder on Ryan’s Rule
With a lot of sicknesses right now, it is important that everyone knows how to advocate for their little ones.
Let’s talk about ‘Ryan’s Rule’ – how and when to use it. This is QLD specific, scroll down for resources available in other states.
Ryan Saunders is a little boy who died in 2007 from an undiagnosed Streptococcal infection, which led to Toxic Shock Syndrome.
When Ryan’s parents were worried he was getting worse they did not feel their concerns were acted on in time.
It is important to note that Ryan’s Rule in Queensland is NOT for general complaints, it must be only used if you have serious concerns about your or your child’s condition or you notice a change that worries you.
As a parent or carer, you need to remember that you are an integral part of your child’s health care team. Ask questions, be informed, and be involved.
The Ryan’s Rule escalation process is as follows:
Step 1: Talk to a nurse or doctor about your concerns. If you are not satisfied with the response, go to the next step.
Step 2: Talk to the nurse in charge of the shift. If you are not satisfied with the response, go to the next step.
Step 3: Phone 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) or ask a nurse to phone for you, and request a Ryan’s Rule Clinical Review. You will need to provide the following:
Hospital name
Patient’s name
Ward and bed number (if known)
Your contact number
Once the rule is enacted, a nurse or doctor will undertake a Ryan’s Rule clinical review of the patient and the treatment they are receiving.
Processes in other states:
N.S.W. – R.E.A.C.H program, often displayed around hospitals that use it, link in bio for more. (REACH is not in all hospitals in NSW, but staff are still there to help you – some private hospitals have their own program)
S.A., NT, Vic, TAS – Speak to patient liaison officer to see what process your hospital has.
A.C.T – CARE (Call and Respond Early), documents can be found via google or specific hospital sites.
W.A. – Patient/consumer liaison contacts list at link in bio, as well as information on “Aishwarya’s CARE Call”
Ryan’s Rule saved this young woman’s life
ABC news shared the story of Renee Williams…
Renee Williams, 23, lay unconscious and deteriorating in a ward of a busy Brisbane public hospital with not a doctor in sight.
When her mum Tracie had left Renee at the Princess Alexandra Hospital emergency department with a raging fever, headaches and back pain the day before, her only child was extremely unwell but still awake and talking.
When she returned, Renee was “not even conscious” after having been admitted to a cancer ward — the only bed available at the time — even though she did not have cancer.
For hours, Tracie said, nurses kept calling doctors for a clear direction on Renee’s treatment, only to be ignored.
“They weren’t returning their calls,” she said.
“Nobody was updating the chart so the nurses were left with no clue what they were supposed to be doing.”
Tracie was close to tears as she recalled being unable to rouse Renee, who had pneumonia and a urinary tract infection, which had developed into sepsis — a potentially life-threatening reaction — in September, 2021.
The worried mum felt she had no choice but to call Ryan’s Rule – a process allowing Queenslanders with concerns about a public hospital patient’s condition to receive an urgent review.
“I just said to the nurse: ‘I don’t know what else to do. The only thing I can think of is to call Ryan’s Rule, but I don’t want that to reflect badly on you guys. It’s the doctors that are not responding, which is preventing you from being able to do your job’,” Tracie said.
“The nurses were doing absolutely everything they could. They were just as much at their wits’ end as I was because they couldn’t get any answers.”
The nursing staff backed Tracie’s decision to call Ryan’s Rule, telling her: “There is nothing else you can do. We’ve run out of options.”
Within minutes of her calling 13 HEALTH to enact Ryan’s Rule, a doctor arrived and soon after, a Ryan’s Rule nurse walked into the ward.
Tracie said the Ryan’s Rule nurse found Renee’s vital signs were so concerning, a “code blue” – medical speak for a patient emergency – was called, triggering the dispatch of a rapid response team to Renee’s bedside.
“The room was flooded with people … at which point they actually started going through everything,” she said.
Renee was started on antibiotics and spent seven days in hospital before being discharged.
Nine months on from that medical emergency, Tracie said it horrified her to think of what could have happened if she had not called Ryan’s Rule.
Renee believes Tracie’s decision was lifesaving.
Huge increase in Ryan’s Rule being called
Figures provided by Queensland Health show rising numbers of people are activating Ryan’s Rule, described by the executive director of the department’s patient safety and quality improvement service, Kirstine Sketcher-Baker, as “a gold standard for patient-led safety”.
Ryan’s Rule was activated by patients or their loved ones about 1,600 times in 2021, an average of 31 times a week — a 25 per cent jump on 2020 and a 145 per cent spike on 2016.
The process has been used more than 7,300 times in Queensland public hospitals since it was introduced in 2013.
It was activated 1,271 times in 2019, 1,014 times in 2018, 840 times in 2017 and 654 times in 2016.