Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London
-
J R Coll Physicians Lond · Jan 1992
Audit of an emergency ambulance service: impact of a paramedic system.
The purpose of this survey was to assess the workload of an emergency ambulance service, to describe the use of paramedic skills by those staff with full extended training, and to predict the impact upon the provision of pre-hospital care of deploying a paramedic on every emergency ambulance. Accordingly, a week-long survey was undertaken of all urgent and emergency calls received by an ambulance service covering a mixed urban and semi-rural area of 187 square miles with a population of 396,000. Of the total 682 emergency calls 351 (51.5%) originated from the '999' system: 291 of these patients were taken to hospital where 51% were thought to have minor conditions and 141 were admitted. ⋯ One patient was resuscitated from cardiac arrest. The presence of a paramedic on every emergency ambulance increases the time spent on-scene and offers advanced pre-hospital skills to patients who need them. Care should be taken to ensure that the benefits of time spent on-scene using such skills outweigh the disadvantage of delayed hospital admission.
-
J R Coll Physicians Lond · Jan 1992
What will happen to the quality of care with fewer junior doctors? A Delphi study of consultant physicians' views.
Hospital medical staffing: achieving a balance proposed a reduction in the number of junior doctors and an expansion in the number of consultant posts. This change was to be subject to the 'safety net'--that the number of staff should not fall below a minimum safe level for 24-hour emergency cover. However, no operational definition of 'safe' was offered. ⋯ This included such factors as the time spent by patients waiting in outpatient and A&E departments, and the time doctors spend talking to patients. Consultants were less concerned over the effect of reduced staff numbers on the technical efficiency of provision, and least of all on the effectiveness of care. This last point was seen to be a reflection of consultant physicians' confidence in the basic medical knowledge and skill of their junior staff.