scholarly journals Estimating the emergency care workforce in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritika Tiwari ◽  
Raveen Naidoo ◽  
René English ◽  
Usuf Chikte
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Regulation Policy

Background: Emergency care is viewed as a fundamental human right in South Africa’s constitution. In the public sector, all emergency medical services (EMS) come under the Directorate: Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Medicine at the National Department of Health (NDoH), which provides regulation, policy and oversight guidance to provincial structures.Aim: The aim of the study is to understand the supply and status of human resources for EMS in South Africa.Setting: This research was undertaken for South Africa using the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) database from 2002 to 2019.Methods: A retrospective record-based review of the HPCSA database was undertaken to estimate the current registered and future need for emergency care personnel forecasted up to 2030.Results: There are 76% Basic Ambulance Assistants registered with HPCSA. An additional 96 000 personnel will be required in 2030 to maintain the current ratio of 95.9 registered emergency care personnel per 100 000 population. The profile of an emergency care personnel employed in South Africa is likely to be a black male in the age group of 30–39-years, residing in one of the economically better-resourced provinces.Conclusion: It is time that the current educational framework is revised. Policy interventions must be undertaken to avoid future shortages of the trained emergency care personnel within South Africa.

scholarly journals Emergency care education in South Africa: past, present and future

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simpiwe Sobuwa ◽  
Lloyd Denzil Christopher
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Care Education ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
The Many ◽  
And Training

There have been major changes in pre-hospital emergency care training and education in South African over the past 30 years. This has culminated in the publication of a regulation that brings an end to an era of short courses in emergency care and paves the way for the implementation of the National Emergency Care Education and Training (NECET) policy. The policy envisions a 1-year higher certificate, a 2-year diploma and the 4-year professional degree in emergency medical care. This paper aims to describe the history of emergency care education and training in South Africa that culminated in the NECET policy. The lessons in the professional development of pre-hospital emergency care education and training may have application for emergency medical services in other countries.The migration of existing emergency medical services personnel to the new higher education qualification structure is a major challenge. The transition to the new framework will take time due to the many challenges that must be overcome before the vision of the policy is realised. Ongoing engagement with all stakeholders is necessary for the benefits envisioned in the NECET policy to be realised.  

Guidelines for Pediatric Emergency Care Facilities

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-537
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Pediatric Emergency ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Trained Personnel ◽  
Pediatric Emergency Care

Emergency care for life-threatening pediatric illness and injury requires specialized resources including equipment, drugs, trained personnel, and facilities. The American Medical Association Commission on Emergency Medical Services has provided guidelines for the categorization of hospital pediatric emergency facilities that have been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).1 This document was used as the basis for these revised guidelines, which define: 1. The desirable characteristics of a system of Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) that may help achieve a reduction in mortality and morbidity, including long-term disability. 2. The role of health care facilities in identifying and organizing the resources necessary to provide the best possible pediatric emergency care within a region. 3. An integrated system of facilities that provides timely access and appropriate levels of care for all critically ill or injured children. 4. The responsibility of the health cane facility for support of medical control of pre-hospital activities and the pediatric emergency care and education of pre-hospital providers, nurses, and physicians. 5. The role of pediatric centers in providing outreach education and consultation to community facilities. 6. The role of health cane facilities for maintaining communication with the medical home of the patient. Children have their emergency care needs met in a variety of settings, from small community hospitals to large medical centers. Resources available to these health care sites vary, and they may not always have the necessary equipment, supplies, and trained personnel required to meet the special needs of pediatric patients during emergency situations.

Abstract WP261: Non-English-preferring Patients Have No Differences in Stroke Symptom Recognition or Emergency Care Time Metrics

Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaw Natsui ◽  
Khawja A Siddiqui ◽  
Betty L Erfe ◽  
Nicte I Mejia ◽  
Lee H Schwamm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Similar Response ◽  
Language Preference ◽  
Emergency Department Care ◽  
Hospital Arrival ◽  
Stroke Symptom ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Significant Difference

Introduction: The influence of patients’ language preference on the delivery of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) care in the pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency care settings is scarcely known. We hypothesize that stroke knowledge differences may be associated with non-English preferring (NEP) patients having slower time from symptom discovery to hospital presentation and less engagement of emergency medical services (EMS) than English preferring (EP) patients. Language barriers may also interfere with the delivery of time-sensitive emergency department care. Objectives: To identify whether language preference is associated with differences in patients’ time from stroke symptom discovery to hospital arrival, activation of emergency medical services, door-to-imaging time (DIT), and door-to-needle (DTN) time. Methods: We identified consecutive AIS patients presenting to a single urban, tertiary, academic center between 01/2003-04/2014. Data was abstracted from the institution’s Research Patient Data Registry and Get with the Guidelines-Stroke Registry. Bivariate and regression models evaluated the relationship between language preference and: 1) time from symptom onset to hospital arrival, 2) use of EMS, 3) DIT, and 4) DTN time. Results: Of 3,190 AIS patients who met inclusion/exclusion criteria, 9.4% were NEP (n=300). Time from symptom discovery to arrival, and EMS utilization were not significantly different between NEP and EP patients in unadjusted or adjusted analyses (overall median time 157 minutes, IQR 55-420; EMS utilization: 65% vs. 61.3% p=0.21). There was no significant difference between NEP and EP patients in DIT or in likelihood of DIT ≤ 25 minutes in unadjusted or adjusted analyses (overall median 59 minutes, IQR 29-127; DIT ≤ 25 minutes 24.3% vs. 21.3% p=0.29). There was also no significant different in DTN time or in likelihood of DTN ≤ 60 minutes in unadjusted or adjusted analyses (overall median 53 minutes, IQR 36-73; DTN ≤ 60 minutes 62.5% vs. 58.2% p=0.60). Conclusion: Non-English-preferring patients have similar response to stroke symptoms as reflected by EMS utilization and time from symptom discovery to hospital arrival. Similarly, NEP patients have no differences in in-hospital AIS care metrics of DIT and DTN time.

scholarly journals African drumbeats: a first conference on emergency medicine

CJEM ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 1 (01) ◽  
pp. 44-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garth Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Emergency Medicine ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Penetrating Trauma ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Important Milestone

SUMMARY: Africa’s first conference on emergency medicine was held in October 1998 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Attended by 305 delegates from 13 countries, it was an important milestone in the development of Africa, emergency medicine’s last frontier. The violence of South Africa’s post-apartheid society was portrayed in mock scenario demonstrations of the private sector emergency medical services (EMS) system. Many of the presentations had a distinctly African flavour; they dealt with penetrating trauma and with making the best of extremely limited resources. A session reviewing the activities of traditional healers was not only terrifyingly revealing, it also upset and offended a segment of the African audience. The conference ended positively with the creation of the Emergency Medicine Society of South Africa, a step toward recognition of emergency medicine as a specialty in Africa.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Quality of Medical Care to the Population at the Level of Day Stations and Emergency Stations

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-121
Author(s):  
B. Niyazov ◽  
S. Niyazovа
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Emergency Care ◽  
Rural Population ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Quality Of Medical Care

Insufficient availability of emergency medical services to the rural population is noted. The dynamics of the growth of calls to emergency medical services testifies to the fact that emergency medical institutions have taken over part of inpatient services for the provision of emergency care to patients with chronic diseases and acute colds.

Defining and improving the role of emergency medical services in Cape Town, South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 557-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trisha Anest ◽  
Sarah Stewart de Ramirez ◽  
Kamna S Balhara ◽  
Peter Hodkinson ◽  
Lee Wallis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical

ERRATUM

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 423-423
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Institute Of Medicine ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Health And Human Services ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
The Us ◽  
National Emergency

The July supplement to Pediatrics, "A Call to Action: the Institute of Medicine Report on Emergency Medical Services for Children," Jane F. Knapp, MD, Editor, was sponsored by the National Emergency Medical Services for Children Resource Alliance, through a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services. This information was inadvertently omitted from the supplement.

Emergency Medical Services, Disaster Medicine, and Legal Issues

2019 ◽  
pp. 434-448
Author(s):  
Scott DeShields ◽  
Susan Woodmansee
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Medical Services ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Mandatory Reporting ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Emergency Medical ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Malpractice Liability ◽  
First Time

There are miscellaneous topics in emergency medicine (EM) that are important to clinical practice and to performance on standardized EM tests, including emergency medical services (EMS), disaster medicine, and legal issues. Most EM physicians work closely with EMS and need to understand the basics of medical control and care in the prehospital setting. Although disasters are, fortunately, rare events, EM physicians need to know the basics of how to respond in such situations because they will often be at the forefront of care. Legal aspects of the practice of medicine are rarely taught in medical school or residency. Unfortunately, many physicians are forced to take a hands-on crash course the first time that they are confronted with a lawsuit, administrative investigation, or other legal inquiry. The legally oriented questions in the chapter will help the learner to become acquainted with some of the basics within the legal realm of medical practice, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), informed consent, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), malpractice liability, and mandatory reporting.

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