The RACGP recommends that each doctor’s bag must contain the following equipment:
- Auriscope
- Blood glucose monitoring equipment
- Disposable gloves (sterile and non-sterile)
- Equipment for resuscitation, equipment for maintaining an airway in adults and children, and
equipment to assist ventilation (including bag and mask) - Equipment for sensation testing
- Examination light
- Intravenous access
- In-date medicines for medical emergencies
- Measuring tape
- Ophthalmoscope
- Patella hammer
- Peak flow meter
- PPE
- Pulse oximeter
- Service stationery (including prescription pads and letterhead)
- Sharps container
- 139 Standards for after-hours and medical deputising services (5th edition)
- Spacer for inhalation and salbutamol inhaler
- Specimen-collection equipment
- Sphygmomanometer (with small, medium and large cuffs)
- Stethoscope
- Syringes and needles in a range of sizes
- Thermometer
- Tongue depressors
- Torch
- Urine sampling strips
Medication to Consider in the Doctors Bag
The RACGP says:
To ensure patients’ safe use of medicines, your service must store these products appropriately and securely, and not use or distribute them after their expiry dates. Requirements relating to the acquisition, use, storage, and disposal of Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medicines are contained in legislation, and your service team needs to be aware of and comply with these requirements.
Decide what general medicines you need to keep in your doctor’s bag(s) based on the:
- geographical area your service covers
- health needs of the local community
- type of clinical conditions likely to be encountered
- shelf life and climatic vulnerability of each medicine.
Emergency medicines may include:
- adrenaline
- ADT
- atropine sulphate
- benztropine mesylate
- benzylpenicillin
- broad spectrum parenteral antibiotic
- clonazepam
- dexamethasone sodium phosphate or hydrocortisone sodium succinate
- diazepam
- frusemide
- glucose 50% and/or glucagon
- glyceryl trinitrate spray or tablets
- hyoscine butylbromide
- lignocaine
140 Standards for after-hours and medical deputising services
5th edition - methoxyflurane
- metoclopramide hydrochloride or prochlorperazine
- midazolam
- morphine sulphate or appropriate analgesic agent
- naloxone hydrochloride
- oxytocin
- phytomenadione
- promethazine hydrochloride
- salbutamol aerosol
- tramadol.