Emergency calls from migrants to an emergency call centre: A retrospective epidemiological study

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThe study aims to evaluate migrants' inclination to call emergency call centres. Records of calls made to an emergency call centre by migrants of different age groups and nationalities were reviewed retrospectively.Materials and methodsA total of 4481 emergency call records from migrants of 33 different nationalities was evaluated between 2017 and 2021.ResultsMigrants called the emergency call centres mostly for medical reasons, and most of their calls resulted in referrals to hospitals. Pain, fever, nausea, and vomiting were among the most common medical reasons for emergency calls. The majority of the calls were in the green triage category, and the calls spread over the week.ConclusionThe results showed that migrants use emergency call services in non‐emergency situations. The study recommended enhancing migrants' knowledge of when and how to utilise emergency call centres and making health planning to meet their specific needs.