We investigated the emergency service at Reinosa to evaluate the following: equipment, characteristics, performance (policies, criteria of use of transport), and the type of the attending patients, demand for care and severity. Attention was given to 8,039 patients, with a monthly mean of 674,416 +/- 21,750 and male predominance. ⋯ Our study shows that 96.34% of the demand can be correctly cared for with an adequate equipment. This type of services should be encouraged as they are highly cost effective from the social, health care and economic points of view.
AbstractWe investigated the emergency service at Reinosa to evaluate the following: equipment, characteristics, performance (policies, criteria of use of transport), and the type of the attending patients, demand for care and severity. Attention was given to 8,039 patients, with a monthly mean of 674,416 +/- 21,750 and male predominance. The severity index was distributed between "consultation" (48.36%) and "emergencies" (51.44%). The conditions with a higher demand for care were: accidents, trauma, poisoning and aggression injuries; and respiratory, infective and parasitic diseases. 3.66% of patients were referred to the hospital, using ambulance (57.3%), private means of transportation (32.2%), and mobile intensive care unit (10.4%). Our study shows that 96.34% of the demand can be correctly cared for with an adequate equipment. This type of services should be encouraged as they are highly cost effective from the social, health care and economic points of view.