ECG Tests Arrive Before English Patients

A solution is now available that takes the guesswork out of the patient’s destination during the emergency transportation stage. English hospitals have installed certain ambulances with ECG telemetry advice lines so that physicians can receive tests from ambulances and meet the patient in a prepared manner.

The time between the ambulance ride and the hospital is critical, and although paramedics are instrumental in keeping the patient in the best condition, they’re not physicians. There are conditions that paramedics are not equipped to handle, and urgent treatment is crucial in the event of aneurisms, strokes or heart attacks.

“As paramedics we are trained to provide immediate care and are not specialists in any one field of medicine,” one paramedic told the press. “So to be able to get instant expert advice over the phone is great for us and for the patient.”

Since it is not the responsibility of paramedics to diagnose critical conditions, it doesn’t make sense for them to exert judgment over what direction patients should be sent upon arrival, and since physicians are not typically present during the ambulance ride, communication needs to be quick and flawless. The new plan will eventually yield rapid triage service.

This program was designed for St. Peter’s Hospital in Middlesex and the South East Coast Ambulance Service. In addition to improving communication between paramedics and physicians, the emergency service program will provide paramedics and midwives an educational glimpse at obstetrics and electrocardiography readings.