Project
Evidence-based Prehospital Care: How First Responders Are Bridging the Gap in Emergency Medical Services
In Belgium, the law of 8 July 1964 and its implementing decrees organise Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for people whose health condition requires immediate unplanned care. This assistance is organised through the deployment of an Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre (EMD) that performs three tasks: initial care on site, transport to the nearest hospital and admission to a hospital service.
The first link in the chain-of-survival is the bystander that witnessed the life-threatening medical condition. The bystander gives information to the EMD. The EMS operators collect the relevant information to send appropriate help to the right place and notify the necessary emergency services. Today, the law of 8 July 1964 considers the following resources to be involved in emergency medical assistance: the ambulance and the MUG.
This doctoral research, appreciate the Medical First Responder concept related to its integration into the 1964 law regulating EMS in Belgium, with the aim of reducing the therapy-free interval as follows:
1. Evaluation of the therapy-free interval in Belgium
2. Identification of the scientifically described components of a system with Medical First Responders
3. Assessment of a scientifically based training pathway for the Medical First Responder
4. Compilation of a simulation model with Medical First Responders in Belgium
The Medical First Responder would be part of the EMS and sent to the patient awaiting the arrival of traditional means of the EMS.