By Blair Bigham, MSc EMT-P
Experts from all across the globe gathered in Phoenix last month to discuss how EMS systems can be made safer at the Ambulance Safety Conference hosted by the National Association of EMS Physicians.
The monumental task of understanding EMS safety was made manageable by conference organizer Dr. Jane Brice’s design of a four-part event; safety from the perspective of the vehicle, the provider, the driver and the patient were all explored.
While we can’t report on all that occurred over the two days of intense presentations and discussions at the event, which was sponsored by Zoll Medical Corp, here are the highlights: the top five things that will make ambulances safer.
1) Researchers do not really understand much about ambulance safety; little data is available to guide interventions that make EMS safer for providers, patients and the public. Adverse event databases are desperately needed to shed light on the problems that are faced daily.
2) Adverse events, like vehicle crashes and medication mistakes, occur because a myriad of contributors align at once. These contributors can relate to physical design, the environment, policy and processes, human factors, cultural norms and individual behaviors. This is also true for workplace injuries caused by poor ergonomic design.
3) A learning culture that embraces safety is key to moving the ambulance safety agenda forward: as EMS professionals, it is incumbent on us all to report adverse events. As administrators, regulators and medical directors, it is vitally important to support and praise providers who self-report adverse events and to discourage blame-and-shame cultures.
4) Ambulances in North America are designed poorly compared to those of Europe and elsewhere. Purpose-built vehicles that are designed for the job providers do each and every day are needed in today’s vehicle market, and EMS agencies should seek out well-designed vehicles when making purchase decisions.
5) Improving ambulance safety will require the collaboration of a large and mixed group of professionals, including EMS providers, EMS administrators, EMS physicians, automotive engineers, federal and state regulators, and EMS safety researchers.
Blair Bigham is the first Paramedicine Investigator for Rescu, the resuscitation science program at the University of Toronto. His clinical experience includes four years as a ground paramedic with York Region and one year as an advanced care flight paramedic with Ornge Transport Medicine. His research training includes clinical epidemiology and qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and he has worked with several large prehospital trials with the Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium. His research activities focus on prehospital care delivery, specifically investigating resuscitation guidelines and cardiac arrest for which he has received international recognition. Blair received his Masters of Science in Medical Science at the University of Toronto in 2009 and is dedicated to advancing the science of prehospital care through evidence-based approaches.