AMBULANCE SERVICES AT HOSPITAL UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA AND HOSPITAL KOTA BHARU: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF CALLS

This retrospective study attempted to identify the pattern of ambulance calls for the past two years at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and Hospital Kota Bharu (HKB). This study will provide a simple method of acquiring information related to ambulance response time (ART) and to test w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Malaysian journal of medical sciences Vol. 12; no. 2
Main Author Mohd Shaharudin Shah Che Hamzah, Rashidi Ahmad, Nik Hisamuddin Nik Abdul Rahman, Kasmah Wati Pardi, Naimah Jaafar, Wan Aasim Wan Adnan, Kamaruddin Jaalam, Syed Mohsin Sahil Jamalullail
Format Journal Article
Published Malaysia School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia 31.01.2007
Subjects
Calls
Emergency Ambulance Services
Emergency Medical Services
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This retrospective study attempted to identify the pattern of ambulance calls for the past two years at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) and Hospital Kota Bharu (HKB). This study will provide a simple method of acquiring information related to ambulance response time (ART) and to test whether it met the international standards and needs of the client. Additionally, this paper takes into account the management of emergency calls. This included ambulance response time, which was part of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) episode: onset of ART, which started when details like phone number of the caller, exact location of the incident and the nature of the main complaint had been noted. ART ended when the emergency team arrived at the scene of incident. Information regarding ambulance calls from the record offices of HUSM and HKB was recorded for the year 2001 and 2002, tabulated and analyzed. There was a significant difference in the total number of calls managed by HUSM and HKB in the year 2001. It was noted that 645 calls were managed by HUSM while 1069 calls were recorded at HKB. In the year 2002, however, HUSM led with 613 extra numbers of calls as compare to HKB with 1193 numbers of calls. The pattern of ambulance calls observed is thought to possibly be influenced by social activities like local festivities, school holidays and the seasons. Further, it is observed that no studies were previously undertaken to compare the ART at both the HUSM and HKB to that of the international standards. In fact, a literature review undertaken so far showed no similar studies have been done for the whole Malaysia.
ISSN:1394-195X