BACKGROUND: The Polish Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system is based on two types of medical rescue teams (MRT): specialist (S)--with system doctors and basic (B)--only paramedics. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study is to assess the reasonability of dividing medical rescue teams into specialist and basic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The retrospective analysis of medical cards of rescue activities performed during 21,896 interventions by medical rescue teams, 15,877 of which--by basic medical rescue teams (B MRT) and 6,019--by specialist medical rescue teams (S MRT). The procedures executed by both types of teams were compared. RESULTS: In the analysed group of dispatches, 56.4% were unrelated to medical emergencies. Simultaneously, 52.7% of code 1 interventions and 59.2% of code 2 interventions did not result in transporting the patient to the hospital. The qualification of S teams' dispatches is characterised by a higher number of assigned codes 1 (53.2% vs. 15.9%). It is worth emphasising that the procedures that can be applied exclusively by system doctors do not exceed 1% of interventions. Moreover, the number of the actions performed in medical emergencies in the secured region by the S team that is dispatched as the first one is comparable to that performed by B teams. The low need for usinq S teams'aid by B teams (0.92% of the interventions) was also indicated. CONCLUSIONS: This study points to the necessity to discuss the implementation of straightforward principles of call qualification and the optimisation of the system doctors' role in prehospital activities.
BACKGROUND: The Polish Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system is based on two types of medical rescue teams (MRT): specialist (S)--with system doctors and basic (B)--only paramedics. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study is to assess the reasonability of dividing medical rescue teams into specialist and basic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The retrospective analysis of medical cards of rescue activities performed during 21,896 interventions by medical rescue teams, 15,877 of which--by basic medical rescue teams (B MRT) and 6,019--by specialist medical rescue teams (S MRT). The procedures executed by both types of teams were compared. RESULTS: In the analysed group of dispatches, 56.4% were unrelated to medical emergencies. Simultaneously, 52.7% of code 1 interventions and 59.2% of code 2 interventions did not result in transporting the patient to the hospital. The qualification of S teams' dispatches is characterised by a higher number of assigned codes 1 (53.2% vs. 15.9%). It is worth emphasising that the procedures that can be applied exclusively by system doctors do not exceed 1% of interventions. Moreover, the number of the actions performed in medical emergencies in the secured region by the S team that is dispatched as the first one is comparable to that performed by B teams. The low need for usinq S teams'aid by B teams (0.92% of the interventions) was also indicated. CONCLUSIONS: This study points to the necessity to discuss the implementation of straightforward principles of call qualification and the optimisation of the system doctors' role in prehospital activities.