Analysis of the Intervention of Emergency Medical Teams in Lodz in 2020

Abstract

Abstract Background The main task of the State Medical Rescue System is to provide assistance to every person who faces a sudden health emergency or threat to life. This is provided through Medical Rescue Teams, the analysis of which will allow us to take a closer look at their characteristics and indicate possible areas for improvement. Objectives The purpose of this study is to research the functioning of Medical Rescue Teams in Łódź in 2020, including determining the number, type, reasons and legitimacy of interventions, and detailing the characteristics of patients, place of events, time of departure, time of arrival at the scene and the number and type of trips. Material and methods The material consists of 72,749 trips carried out by Medical Rescue Teams in Łódź in 2020. The obtained results were statistically analyzed using the Statistica v. 13.3 program, where the χ2 test was used to determine the relationship between the variables. A significance level of p<0.05 was assumed. The statistical analysis shows that 72,749 trips were carried out by Medical Rescue Teams in Łódź in 2020, 89% of which were “P” type, and 11% “S” type. Results Most of the interventions (emergency callouts) were visits to women and to the elderly (those in the 60+ age category). Teams were usually dispatched in the departure urgency code “1”. The most common places to which emergency teams were sent were patients’ homes and public places. Ambulances were more often called for patients who were not in a state of emergency than for those who were. The most common reasons for requesting help were symptoms, disease features, cardiovascular diseases, injuries and poisonings. Conclusions Noting the high percentage of calls to patients who did not have a sudden threat to life or health – educational activities should be carried out to promote and increase awareness of the reasons for calling emergency medical teams.