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Victorian Government caretaker period

As the Victorian State election will be held on Saturday 28 November 2026, the Victorian Government will assume a Caretaker role from 6pm on 3 November 2026. During the caretaker period, content will only be added to this website in accordance with the Caretaker Conventions. See Guidelines for Caretaker Conventions.

Trauma Service

Trauma advice and retrieval service

  • PIPER - Paediatric Infant Perinatal Emergency Retrieval

    1300 13 76 50

    Click here to visit the PIPER site

    Overview

    • The PIPER retrieval number has been designated to assist with the provision of clinical advice regarding the management of paediatric (i.e. patients before their 16th birthday) trauma patients and to coordinate their referral and transfer the Paediatric Major Trauma Service at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
    • The number is typically used to facilitate the Inter-hospital transfer of a Paediatric Major Trauma patient.
    • Initial contact is with a PIPER co-ordinator who will facilitate a conference call between the caller, an ED physician and a PICU physician at the Royal Children’s Hospital.  If particular expertise is required from specialist services such as Paediatric Neurosurgery, Plastic or Orthopaedic surgery, these services can also be included in the conference call.
    • It is essentially for:
      • Advice regarding the acute trauma care of the time critical trauma case
      • Crisis intervention
      • Planning for transfer
    • Anyone can use the number – doctors, nurses, paramedics and allied health workers
    • Not every patient needs to be transferred – it is an advice line as well.