Publication: The Current State of Ambulances and Emergency Medical Services in the Hilly Region of Nepal
Files
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kathmandu University
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Background
Pre-hospital care in Nepal has seen marked improvement in recent years. Emergency
medical services means out of hospital acute medical care and/or transportation
provided to a patient with an illness or an injury. It continues to lack centralization
of resources and standardization across personnel and patient transport vehicles
operating in the country.
Objective
To describe the current state of ambulances including on-board equipment,
emergency medical services and driver training among ambulances servicing a hilly
region of Nepal.
Method
A descriptive study was conducted among 117 ambulance drivers transporting patients
to the Emergency Department at Dhulikhel Hospital in Kavre, Nepal. A convenience
sampling was done to collect data using the self-structured questionnaire during a
one-month period from 1st to 30th November 2021. The questionnaire contained
21 items to gather information about the status of ambulance services. Data was
analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Result
The majority of ambulances lack basic and advanced life support equipment.
None of the ambulance drivers surveyed had completed formal ambulance driver
training and only 35% had received some form of medical training. Most ambulances
(70.1%) did not have a licensed paramedic onboard during transport. Majority of the
ambulances (91%) were functioning as patient transport vehicle only and these were
classified as C-grade ambulances.
Conclusion
Ambulances remain poorly staffed and under-resourced and ambulance drivers
largely lack formal training and credentialing. Targeted interventions and investment
are required to bring emergency medical services into compliance with national
standards.
KEY WORDS
Ambulance, Emergency medical services, Pre-hospital care
Description
Shresha SK,1 Weiner Y,2 Therriault C2
1Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine
Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital
Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences
Dhulikhel, Kavre, Nepal
2Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, United States
Keywords
Ambulance, Emergency medical services, Pre-hospital care