Paramedic Teams In Ambulance Service
The service of Ambulance is focused on two factors. First is to reach at the emergency situation as fast as possible. Second is to take the injured person to the health care facility as quick as possible (Kamel and et.al., 2016). Paramedic teams are generally the first team to reach at the emergency situation either by car, bike or any other transporting vehicle. The first thing they will do is quickly evaluate the situation and then identify required treatment for the patient till the ambulance is not arrived.
Depending on the nature and condition of the patients, these teams are either treat the patient on the spot or they make sure that the patient is in stable condition. They may treat the injured person on the way to hospital or in ambulance also (Nisbet, Dunn and Lincoln, 2015). Paramedics works alone sometimes or works with an care assistant. Paramedics works in different teams which can be either formal team or informal teams or any other. The type of teams are:
1. Formal team
This team is well structured and they work for a specific purpose in ambulance service. They are having a leader who will guide the team members to do the work. Each one is having some specific role but all the members are working together all the time to help the injured patients (Manuti and et.al., 2015). This team is having its own department in the health care services. They are the first one to reach at an emergency situation. They are well qualified paramedics and are able to give pain relief medication, can insert drips, can give drugs therapy to reduce the pain etc. They are well experienced and expert in giving treatment to sick and injured people and transport them to hospital for further medical assistance. The formal squad will remain for a longer duration of time and will deal with the problems occurs at emergency situation.
2. Informal teams
This is not having a standard structure and everybody in the team is having equal status. No leader is there and majorly formed in emergency situation. This type of team will provide a chance to the members to work in a group. The emergency response paramedics can be an informal team. At the time of emergency, if the injured people are more, then the members of the staff will form a group and make a team (Chesters and et.al., 2013). They are dispatched at the same time when the ambulance is dispatched. Their role is to provide fast response in certain locations where the coverage of ambulance is very limited. Their role is to give fast response, not to transport the patients.
3. Size
The teams in ambulance services can have different sizes according to the emergency requirements. Small teams may be having approx 7-10 members, medium team is consisting of 10-50 people and large team is having 50+ members. Small teams will be the formal ones including the driver of the ambulance, the assistant and 3-4 medical consultants who are specialists in those situations (Schmutz and et.al., 2015). The emergency team can be the medium team, because it require more people during large emergency situation. The hospital staff including all the doctors and nurses can be the big team.
4. Temporary project/task team
They are formed to complete an specific task like, to assist the qualified paramedics in case of emergency. This team will disband when the task is completed. In ambulance services, the evaluation team can be the task team. They evaluate the accident scenario and find out what help is required at the place other than ambulance (McQueen and et.al., 2015). They will co-ordinate with the hospital regarding the type of services required at that place and after that the patient is being transported to the hospital. This team will disband once the scenario is clear. The support officers in the hospital are temporary. These paramedics only provide expert advice on how to deal with the situation.
5. Permanent grouping
They are very similar to the formal teams, but these are formed on the lasting basis. The health care department like operation department. They are having the responsibility to arrange all the necessary equipments required for operation in the case of emergency. In ambulance, the driver and the helping staff can also be called as permanent groupings (Aftyka, Rudnicka-Drożak and Rybojad, 2014). The permanent teams in ambulance service are essential because they are having experience to deal with all the cases of emergency in any kind of situation and under enormous pressure.
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REFERENCES
- Aftyka, A., Rudnicka-Drożak, E. and Rybojad, B., 2014. A comparison of ambulance responses to incidents of Medical Emergency Teams led by nurses and paramedics––A retrospective single-center study. International journal of nursing studies. 51(4). pp.555-561.
- Chesters, A., and et.al., 2013. Prehospital anaesthesia performed in a rural and suburban air ambulance service staffed by a physician and paramedic: a 16-month review of practice. Emergency Medicine Journal. pp.emermed-2012.
- Kamel, H., and et.al., 2016. One year exploring Qatar's ambulance service: Views from an Emergency Medicine Fellow. Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care. 2016(2). p.139.
- Manuti, A., and et.al., 2015. Formal and informal learning in the workplace: a research review. International Journal of Training and Development. 19(1). pp.1-17.
- McQueen, C., and et.al., 2015. Utilisation of a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for equestrian accidents in a regional major trauma network in the United Kingdom. Injury. 46(5). pp.781-786.
- Nisbet, G., Dunn, S. and Lincoln, M., 2015. Interprofessional team meetings: Opportunities for informal interprofessional learning. Journal of interprofessional care. 29(5). pp.426-432.