9.4.2 Transport and the emergency evacuation plan
Ideally, each village or community will have an emergency evacuation system in place that will automatically be triggered by a health crisis. That way it should be possible to ensure ready transport to enable critically sick mothers or babies to get to the health facility in time.
Quickly write down two actions that you would take when you have a mother or baby who needs to get to a health facility for specialist care.
You would write the referral note; and support the family in mobilising the necessary human and financial resources to transport mother and baby to the nearest appropriate health facility.
Once you have ensured that mother and baby have transport, check that there is adequate support for any other children or frail dependents who remain at home while the mother and any other caregivers are away.
If the mother may need a blood transfusion, send one or two healthy adults with her who could act as blood donors.
If possible, aim to accompany the critically sick mother or baby to the health facility. If you cannot go with them, make sure that a responsible adult accompanies them instead. Remember to ask this person to contact you as soon as he or she gets back to the village, so that you know that the patient reached the health facility safely. She or he can also tell you how the mother or baby is being treated. If you do not hear anything within a day or two, visit the home to check whether they have returned from the health facility, and how they are progressing.
9.4.1 Good documentation