State of emergency medicine in Azerbaijan

BACKGROUND There has been no previous study into the state of emergency medicine in Azerbaijan. As a legacy of the Soviet Semashko system, the "specialty" model of emergency medicine and integrated emergency departments do not exist here. Instead, pre-hospital emergency care is delivered by ambulance physicians and in-hospital care by individual departments, often in specialty hospitals. Emergency care is therefore fragmented, highly specialized and inefficient. AIMS The Emergency Medicine Development Initiative (EMDI) of the International Medical Corps (IMC) was designed to improve the quality of emergency care in four pilot regional centers in Azerbaijan. The objective of this study was to assess the baseline emergency medical capacity of these four centers. METHODS EMDI staff conducted a four-part baseline survey in April 2006 to assess emergency care in Ganja (the second largest city in Azerbaijan), Kurdamir, Shamkir and Yevlakh. Data collection involved interviews with relevant personnel and a retrospective records review in each city. RESULTS Pre-hospital: The number of ambulance teams per 10,000 inhabitants is below the number required by local regulations. On average, 45% of 27 medications and 37% of 17 pieces of critical equipment were available. Of the emergency procedures, 21% could be performed in the pre-hospital setting. In-hospital: Admission rates were near 100% for the admissions department-an area that is supposed to function as an emergency department would. On average 57% of 40 medications and 42% of 22 pieces of critical equipment were available. Of the emergency procedures, 62% could be performed in the in-hospital setting. CONCLUSIONS The emergency medical system surveyed in Azerbaijan is inefficiently organized, under-financed, poorly equipped and lacks adequately trained staff. Reforms need to be directed towards achieving international standards, while adapting new models for service delivery into the existing framework and improving system capacity as highlighted by this baseline assessment.