Procedural sedation in the emergency centre

Background. The performance of safe and effective procedural sedation in the emergency centre has become a core competency in emergency medicine internationally. However, in South Africa clear guidelines are lacking and this guideline attempts to set out the standard for the routine safe use of procedural sedation by clinical staff in emergency centres. Method. The Emergency Medicine Society of South Africa (EMSSA) appointed a task group to analyse the international literature and guidelines, and a draft document was produced which was revised by corsensus input from an expert panel. Results and conclusion. A simple and clear practice guideline has been developed for health professionals working in emergency centres in South Africa. This guideline will help to improve the provision of emergency procedural sedation, which is an important component of the care provided in emergency centres.