The Pre-hospital Obstetric Emergency Training (POET) programme provides an introduction to the obstetric patient and the anatomical and physiological changes that occur during pregnancy (including interpretation of patient-held records and rapid assessment of the obstetric patient). It includes clear definitions and describes risk factors, diagnosis and pre-hospital management of significant problems that occur in both early and late pregnancy and the immediate postnatal period. These are all situations that the pre-hospital practitioner may attend. This text and the accompanying integrated on-line and 'hands on' course will help practitioners identify and manage a range of time-critical obstetric emergencies specifically in the pre-hospital setting, and provides a structured examination and assessment technique as an aid to determining what treatment should be provided before transport, as well as when and how urgently transport should be initiated. POET is of relevance to paramedics, ambulance staff, doctors, and nurses working in the emergency pre-hospital setting and to midwives facilitating home births. It will also be of considerable value to medical and nursing practitioners working in Emergency Departments and unscheduled care settings where immediate access to skilled obstetric assistance is not available.
