Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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Over a 6-month period, all patients admitted to the Royal United Hospital, Bath, with acute ischaemic heart disease were prospectively followed for the period of their hospital stay. Strict admission and discharge criteria were defined for the Coronary Care Unit (CCU), so that groups of patients could be identified in which the treatment was not ideal. ⋯ It was significantly higher overall in the groups of patients who were either not admitted (14.3%, 4/28) or whose admission was delayed (17.4%, 4/23). The results underline the importance of the provision of adequate coronary care facilities.
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The increasing sophistication of pre-hospital care, with paramedics and many types of 'rapid response' units, requires the use of advanced systems of ambulance control. The introduction of call selection by a paramedic in the ambulance control room significantly improved the tasking of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. This paper illustrates the need for a system to grade 999 calls, so that the appropriate pre-hospital response can be directed to each patient.
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Comment Letter Biography Historical Article
Beethoven's nephropathy and death.