Community emergency paramedics as an innovative resource in emergency care—first results of an observational study

Abstract

Background: Rescue services and emergency departments are increasingly burdened by patients who are not life-threateningly ill. In England and the USA, a Community Paramedic System has been established for local care. Based on these concepts, a Community Paramedic System (“Gemeindenotfallsanitäter”, G‑NFS) adapted to the German rescue system was developed. The goal of the G‑NFS is to reduce the misuse of high-quality rescue systems. Objective: Descriptive analysis of the data collected in the first 12 months. Methods: A retrospective observational study based on the 2019 deployment documentation was performed. Results: A total of 3703 protocols were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 62.2 ± 24.7 years. Treatment priority “0” was selected for 2186 (61.1%) patients. In all, 2134 (59%) patients did not need any further ambulance service—outpatient care on site was sufficient. Presentation in an emergency department was recommended to 1222 (33%) patients, while 1422 (38%) patients were advised to see their general practitioner. Based on the G‑NFS classification, 3058 (85%) deployments were correctly categorized by the dispatchers. Discussion: Through the targeted alerting of the newly created resource G‑NFS, patients can be treated on site on an outpatient basis, thus, relieving emergency care institutions. In the further course of the project, it will be necessary to investigate what the indications for the 1480 (41%) deployments with a follow-up alarm of rescue resources (ambulance vehicles) are and how the assessment of the control centres can be improved.