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How do ambulance personnel experience work at a disaster site?
1Borås University College, School of Health Sciences, Kunskapscentrum PreHospen 501 90 Borås, Sweden. bjornove.suserud@hb.se
Accident and Emergency Nursing
|January 5, 2002
Summary
Ambulance personnel were mostly satisfied with their performance at a major fire, but desired more time for minor injuries and better support for severe cases. Suburban crews reported less satisfaction with inter-agency cooperation.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Disaster Management
- Public Health
Background:
- Major accident sites require integrated knowledge from diverse fields.
- Emergency and disaster situations impose varied demands on personnel, equipment, and organization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate ambulance personnel's perception of their actions and the overall emergency organization at a major accident site (discotheque fire).
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire with 57 questions was distributed to 36 ambulance and medical team personnel involved in the 1998 discotheque fire.
- A response rate of 80% was achieved.
Main Results:
- Most personnel reported satisfaction with their preparedness and the care provided.
- Dissatisfaction stemmed from insufficient time for non-injured or minor-injured individuals.
- Enhanced medical support was needed for severely injured patients.
- Suburban ambulance crews expressed lower satisfaction with inter-agency cooperation compared to city rescue services.
Conclusions:
- Ambulance personnel generally felt prepared but identified areas for improvement in patient comfort and specialized care.
- Inter-agency collaboration requires further attention to optimize emergency response effectiveness.