Improvements to emergency medical services

EMS Improvement

In every EMS system, there is room for improvement. Several different areas can be improved upon in the local EMS system, including response times, staffing requirements, and treatment of patients. The improvements that need to be made are not always feasible, however, because there are often extenuating circumstances that have to be addressed and that cannot be easily avoided or worked around. For the local EMS, response times are causing clinical risks to patients. The longer a patient has to wait after he or she has called for an ambulance, the more chance that patient has for his or her medical condition to get worse (Barkley, 1978). That matters, naturally, because it can be the difference between life and death for a very ill patient who needs extremely urgent care. Even patients who are not as critical can end up getting worse and having more complications if they are not offered a quick response to their medical needs (Skandalakis, 2006).

Because that is the case, there is more than just clinical impact. The way customers and employees engage with one another also matters, and can leave a lasting impression on both parties (Skandalakis, 2006). If the ambulance service and the way in which an ill person is treated is poor, that person will remember that. He or she may choose to try to avoid the ambulance next time it is needed, because of a bad experience (Melby & Ryan, 2005). By doing that, the person may end up putting himself or herself at risk simply because he or she does not want to engage with the ambulance crew because they did not treat the patient well last time. Ambulance crews are not always the same, though, and they do change based on the days and shifts. The odds are low that the same crew would be working. Still, with bad feelings on the part of the patient, that can become an issue.

Another problem that the local EMS has, besides patient treatment and response times, is the way in which staffing is addressed. Staffing an EMS system can be complicated. The technicians who work for the ambulance service need to be available where and when they are needed (Barkley, 1978). That generally means that there is more than one set of personnel and more than one ambulance on staff for each shift. There may be another set of personnel and another ambulance on call, as well. These crew members can take a call if they are needed, but otherwise they will have free time. They generally have a cell phone or pager to notify them if they need to come in and take a call. The shifts are often 24 hours long, with sleep taking place in between calls. That is not always terribly effective, because some crews during busy shifts may end up sleep deprived and struggling to care for patients probably (Skandalakis, 2006). This is especially true for systems that are short staffed, overall.