‘Formulaic’ gender-abuse guidelines seldom followed

Abstract

The trumpeting by the Health Professions Council (HPCSA) of screening guidelines for emergency care workers handling victims of domestic violence – while welcomed – got a muted response from emergency medicine chiefs in the country’s most brutal province last month. The two people heading the Western Cape’s clinical protocols and training for emergency medicine and overall emergency medicine services, had reservations as to how practical – or user-friendly – the guidelines are in high-pressure or dangerous situations encountered by their staff.