The P.A.R.T.Y Program is back at the Royal Adelaide Hospital after a hiatus due to COVID-19.
The program focuses on preventing trauma and injuries before they happen, by giving secondary school students the opportunity to get firsthand experience of the journey a trauma patient takes through the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
The Program has been operating out of the Royal Adelaide Hospital for 7 years, but has been running a mobile program since the beginning of the pandemic.
Cedar College students were the first allowed on-site last month.
Comments from the students included:
“I loved the whole experience, I would recommend to anyone. Everyone was really nice as well.
“The hands on scenario was extremely fun and exciting! It really put me in the shoes of a health provider to understand the stress they undergo.
“I learned that every risk will have consequences on me, my friends/family and strangers.”
As part of the program, students spend time with front line emergency services and health professionals who care for trauma patients and hear firsthand accounts from trauma survivors to help them develop skills in recognising situations that can potentially lead to injury or death.
In Australia, trauma is responsible for over 40 per cent of deaths in the 15- to 25-year-old age group, with many more left with varying disabilities.
This is often the result of a combination of risk-related behaviour and alcohol and/or drugs, with evidence showing 75 per cent of traumatic injuries and deaths in this age group are preventable.
The P.A.R.T.Y Program empowers students with the knowledge of consequences of risk taking behaviour to help them make safer and ultimately lifesaving decisions.
