scholarly journals Better safe than sorry: Registered nurses’ strategies for handling difficult calls to emergency medical dispatch centres – An interview study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inger K. Holmström ◽  
Elenor Kaminsky ◽  
Ylva Lindberg ◽  
Douglas Spangler ◽  
Ulrika Winblad
Keyword(s):  
Registered Nurses ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Emergency Medical Dispatch ◽  
Emergency Medical

scholarly journals The perspectives of Swedish registered nurses about managing difficult calls to emergency medical dispatch centres: a qualitative descriptive study

BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inger K. Holmström ◽  
Elenor Kaminsky ◽  
Ylva Lindberg ◽  
Douglas Spangler ◽  
Ulrika Winblad
Keyword(s):  
Registered Nurses ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Time Pressure ◽  
Emergency Medical Dispatch ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive ◽  
The Right ◽  
And Coping

Abstract Background Telephone triage at emergency medical dispatch centres is often challenging for registered nurses due to lack of visual cues, lack of knowledge about the patient, and time pressure – and making the right decision can be a matter of life and death. Some calls may be more difficult to handle, and more knowledge is needed about these calls to develop education and coping strategies. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the perspectives of registered nurses’ views about managing difficult calls to emergency medical dispatch centres. Methods A descriptive design with a qualitative inductive approach was used. Three dispatch centers in mid-Sweden were investigated, covering about 950,000 inhabitants and handling around 114,000 calls per year. Individual interviews were carried out with a purposeful sample of 24 registered nurses. Systematic text condensation was conducted. Results Seven themes were generated: calls with communication barriers, calls from agitated or rude callers, calls about psychiatric illness, calls from third parties, calls about rare or unclear situations, calls with unknown addresses and calls regarding immediate life-threatening conditions. There was a strong consensus among the registered nurses about which calls were experienced as difficult, with the exception of calls about immediate life-threatening conditions. Some registered nurses thought calls about immediate life-threatening conditions were easy to handle as they simply adhered to protocol, while others described these calls as difficult and were emotionally affected. Conclusion The registered nurses’ descriptions of difficult calls focused on the callers, while their own role, the organisational framework, and leadership were not mentioned. Many types of calls included difficulties, which could be related to the caller, their symptoms, or different circumstances. The registered nurses pointed to language barriers and rude, agitated callers as increasing problems. An investigation of actual emergency calls is warranted to examine the extent and nature of such calls.

Analysis of Emergency Medical Services Triage and Dispatch Errors by Registered Nurses in Italy

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabetta Palma ◽  
Daniele Antonaci ◽  
Antonio Colì ◽  
Giancarlo Cicolini
Keyword(s):  
Registered Nurses ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical

scholarly journals Utility of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Telephone Screening in Identifying COVID-19 Positive Patients

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Molly McCann-Pineo ◽  
Timmy Li ◽  
Paul Barbara ◽  
Brian Levinsky ◽  
James Debono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Dispatch ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Telephone Screening

Abstract 01: Dispatching Lay Rescuers Through a Smartphone Application is Associated With Increased Bystander Defibrillation in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest

Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 138 (Suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linn Andelius ◽  
Carolina Malta Hansen ◽  
Freddy Lippert ◽  
Lena Karlsson ◽  
Christian Torp-Pedersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Arrest ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Automated External Defibrillator ◽  
Early Defibrillation ◽  
Emergency Medical Dispatch ◽  
Capital Region ◽  
Electronic Survey ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Hospital Cardiac Arrest ◽  
External Defibrillator

Introduction: Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is dependent on early defibrillation. To increase bystander defibrillation in OHCAs, a first-responder program dispatching lay rescuers (Heart Runners) through a smartphone application (Heart Runner-app) was implemented in the Capital Region of Denmark. We investigated the proportion of Heart Runners arriving prior to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and rates of bystander defibrillation. Methods: The Capital Region of Denmark comprises 1.8 mil. inhabitants and 19,048 Heart Runners were registered. In cases of suspected OHCA, the Heart Runner-app was activated by the Emergency Medical Dispatch Center. Up to 20 Heart Runners < 1.8 km from the OHCA were dispatched to either start cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or to retrieve and use a publicly accessible automated external defibrillator (AED). Through an electronic survey, Heart Runners reported if they arrived before EMS and if they applied an AED. OHCAs where at least one Heart Runner arrived before EMS were compared with OHCAs where EMS arrived first. All OHCAs from September 2017 to May 2018, where Heart Runners had been dispatched, were included. Results: Of 399 EMS treated OHCAs, 78% (n=313/399) had a matching survey. A Heart Runner arrived before EMS in 47% (n=147/313) of the cases, and applied an AED in 41% (n=61/147) of these cases. Rate of bystander defibrillation was 2.5-fold higher compared to cases where the EMS arrived first (Table 1). Conclusions: By activation of the Heart Runner-app, Heart Runners arrived prior to EMS in nearly half of all the OHCA cases. Bystander defibrillation rate was significantly higher when Heart Runners arrived prior to EMS.

Availability and Use of an Automated External Defibrillator at Emergency Medical Dispatch

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 683-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Gardett ◽  
Meghan Broadbent ◽  
Greg Scott ◽  
Jeff J. Clawson ◽  
Christopher Olola
Keyword(s):  
Automated External Defibrillator ◽  
Emergency Medical Dispatch ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
External Defibrillator

scholarly journals Diagnosis of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest by Emergency Medical Dispatch: A Diagnostic Systematic Review

Resuscitation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R. Drennan ◽  
Guillaume Geri ◽  
Steve Brooks ◽  
Keith Couper ◽  
Tetsuo Hatanaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cardiac Arrest ◽  
Emergency Medical Dispatch ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Hospital Cardiac Arrest
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