OBJECTIVES (1) To determine the pattern of ambulance arrivals in the emergency department (ED) and (2) to review resource allocation based on these data. METHODS All (13 697) ambulance arrivals in 1996 to the ED of Tan Tock Seng Hospital were studied and where relevant compared with the walk in and total arrivals of the same year. The following data were obtained from computer records: (a) pa...

BACKGROUND Ambulance crashes have become an increasing source of public concern. Emergency medical services directors have little data to develop ambulance operation and risk management policies. OBJECTIVE To describe fatal ambulance crash characteristics, identifying those that differentiate emergency and nonemergency use crashes. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis of all fatal ambu...

BACKGROUND Africa accounts for one sixth of global road traffic deaths-most in the pre-hospital setting. Ambulance transport is expensive relative to other modes of pre-hospital transport, but has advantages in time-sensitive, high-acuity scenarios. Many countries, including Ethiopia, are expanding ambulance fleets, but clinical characteristics of patients using ambulances remain ill-defined. ...

INTRODUCTION Emergency Departments (ED) in the UK have seen increasing attendance rates in recent years. Departments are now seeking strategies to reduce their attendances. A review of all ambulance attendances to the ED at Ninewells Hospital was conducted to identify if patients presenting by ambulance could be seen and treated more appropriately in other parts of the health service. METHOD ...

OBJECTIVE Turkey is a developing country undergoing a system change in the prehospital emergency medical services (EMS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the institutional structure and legislative framework on the number of ambulance accidents in Turkey. METHODS During the first phase of the study, ambulance accident data was requested and obtained from the Ministry o...

BACKGROUND Research on utilization of ambulances by pediatric patients lacks an objective, reproducible tool for the evaluation of patterns of ambulance use by both the providers and the users of this resource. OBJECTIVES 1) To develop an objective, diagnosis-based measure of appropriateness of ambulance utilization. 2) To use the measure to evaluate whether Municipal Ambulance Service dispat...

St Bartholomew's Hospital, in the City of London, has for many years run a Coronary Ambulance service, called by the public via the 999 system. During a 9-month period only 55% of 214 cardiac emergencies arriving at St Bartholomew's Hospital came with Coronary Ambulance support, although the service was available if called. In cases where the Coronary Ambulance was summoned, the call-out was in...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Few patients with acute stroke are treated with alteplase, often due to significant prehospital delays after symptom onset. The aims of this study were to: (1) identify factors associated with rapid first medical assessment in the emergency department after a call for ambulance assistance, and (2) determine the impact of ambulance practice on times from the ambulance call...

BACKGROUND Older people resident in care homes have a limited life expectancy and approximately two-thirds have limited mental capacity. Despite initiatives to reduce unplanned hospital admissions for this population, little is known about the involvement of emergency services in supporting residents in these settings. METHODS This paper reports on a longitudinal study that tracked the involv...

We investigated the link between ambulance transports and meteorological parameters of summer by using daily data in Osaka area, Japan. Daily observations for ambulance transports (from July 1 to September 30, 2009) were obtained from Fire Department Service in Osaka. Data of meteorological parameters in Osaka area, Japan (from July 1 to September 30, 2009) were also obtained from Japan Meteoro...