Background
In Norway as well in in the rest of the western world, there has been a steady increase in the number of calls to emergency call centres in recent years. An ageing population with more chronic diseases and a generally lower threshold for contacting the emergency services may have contributed to this development. This increased activity has led to a greater strain on both emergency call centres and those who have to respond to patients. To meet this challenge, we need to find smarter ways to utilise limited car and air ambulance resources.
Potential role conflicts
Emergency call centres have physicians available for medical advice, a role that is most often held by the air ambulance service physician on duty at the nearest helicopter base. This can lead to challenges such as limited availability for emergency call centre operators and potential role conflicts, according to government reports.
Decision support regarding future organisation of emergency call centres
With an on-call paramedic, the decision to dispatch the helicopter to the air ambulance base is transferred from the helicopter doctor on duty to the on-call paramedic. This doctor can also assist with medical and operational advice to the emergency centre operators if necessary. The effects of this will be evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively in a collaboration between St. Olavs hospital, the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, and SINTEF. The results will be used as decision support for decisions regarding future organisation of emergency call centres and for national and international publication.
Implementation
SINTEF is responsible for conducting the qualitative evaluation of the experiences of emergency call centre physicians and operators, and is collecting data using focus groups and interviews.