Paramedic treatment leads to significant improvement in patients’ condition: Study

Doha, Qatar: A recent study has revealed that many patients choose not to be taken to the hospital after an emergency call because their condition imp...

Doha, Qatar: A recent study has revealed that many patients choose not to be taken to the hospital after an emergency call because their condition improves significantly following treatment by paramedics on the scene.

Respondents to a study on patient well-being following the decision not to transport a patient to the hospital after an emergency call have reported improvements such as pain relief, stopped bleeding, stabilised vital signs, and overall symptom relief. They also expressed a high level of satisfaction with the services provided by Hamad Medical Corporation’s  Ambulance Service. The study, titled, ‘Patient-Centric Perspectives on Non-Conveyance Decisions

Following Pre-Hospital Emergency Calls: A Qualitative Study’, was published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma, and Acute Care.”

The Ambulance Service provides life-saving care to patients with critical conditions such as heart attack, stroke, seizure, choking, chest pain, unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, and severe allergic reaction. Approximately 1,200 calls are received by the Ambulance Service daily and ambulances are dispatched through 57 focal points.  However, officials have said that an average of 20% calls received through the National Command Centre requesting for ambulance services are minor cases. As a result, a national campaign ‘Where For Your Care?’ aims to educate the public about the symptoms and conditions that require an ambulance as well as alternative treatment options for non-life-threatening cases.

In this backdrop, the study used a qualitative analysis approach, conducting telephone interviews with 210 patients who had requested pre-hospital emergency care from Hamad Medical Corporation’s Ambulance Service between June 15 and August 1, 2023, but chose not to be transported to the hospital.