The Sector of Emergency Care - Case Study Example

Reforming Emergency Care Introduction In every country, the sector of Emergency Care is rated to be amongst the most vital spheres. This is because, as suggested by its name, this sector addresses the highly vital need of providing services in emergency situations where the safety and well being of an individual is in severe jeopardy. At this juncture, it would be worthwhile to study the document having recommendations that are aimed at enhancing services of emergency care, and released by the United Kingdom’s secretary of State of Health, in October 2001. The Document “Reforming Emergency Care”- Objectives The document “Reforming Emergency Care”, which is a vivid reflection of the related committed endeavors of the UK’s Department of Health, elaborates some key recommendations for enhancing the services to patients badly in need of prompt medical attention. The National Health Services (NHS) of the UK, by means of initiating these reforms, was propelled by the primary objective of substantially minimizing the time taken for responding to emergency calls. It was projected that, just after about a year of implementation of these measures and in at least three quarters of all related cases, ambulances would be present by the side of the individual confronted with an emergency situation imperiling their very life, just within eight minutes. Likewise, it was also estimated that patients struck by Myocardial Infarction shall be administered clot-busting medication well within twenty minutes of hospitalization. (1) The above are just two of the many contingency situations that are encompassed under the purview of the recommendations put forward by “Reforming Emergency Care”. The reforms strive to significantly reduce the span of responding even in all other compelling situations that can be categorized as medical emergencies. Need of These Reforms The NHS is unequalled in terms of swiftly responding to major accidents and promptly carrying out various rescue measures. Notwithstanding that, there was an area where the NHS strongly felt that further improvements in service are imperative – attending to individuals struck with an emergency! (1) As things stood at the time when these reforms were contemplated, individual patients were compelled to await longer periods, for getting an ambulance, obtaining appointment of a GP, getting the medical investigations done, and being admitted in a hospital, to cite a few. (1) To put the matter in a nutshell, group of people grievously injured in a major accident were being attended to very promptly. Unfortunately, this very issue of rapid response, which in many cases could be the vital difference between life and death, was not being addressed so effectively when an individual is the one who is struck by a sudden contingency. It was primarily for the purpose of eliminating this very flaw that NHS came forward with these recommendations pertaining to the reform of emergency care. Audit of Reforms by National Audit Office (2004) In the year 2004 the National Audit Office (NAO) carried out an audit for evaluating the extent to which these reforms of emergency care were implemented. The resultant findings identified many areas of emergency care where the level of service was rather below the required standards. The audit report strongly suggested that the NHS could not achieve comprehensive success in reforming emergency care, and that some corrective measures had to be swiftly initiated. (2) The Report stated emphatically that these shortcomings were even more prominent while attending to patients with intricate problems. It (Report) focused on the fact that, there have been many instances of such patients being compelled to wait for well over four hours in A & E (Accident and Emergency), before starting to receive medical attention. Similarly, the Audit also identified some trusts that were seriously lagging behind in addressing this all-important aspect of minimal waiting period for patients. During the audit, another major shortcoming was identified, too. It was noted that the physical design of some A & E facilities is not in a manner facilitating the adherence to modernistic work procedures. (2) All these were the major findings of this Audit, based on which, some key recommendations have been made to the Department of Health, encompassing aspects such as duration of wait, assessing inflow of patients and care of highly vulnerable persons, etc. (2) Present-Day View of the Reforms According to the statistical information pertaining to middle of the year 2010, Ambulances in the region of Waltham Forest are displaying a marked improvement, in terms of quick response to emergency situations. In the same year and in comparison with 2009, ambulances in London managed to register a substantial rise in the number of patients with a serious condition, whom they (ambulances) were able to reach in a span of eight minutes. (3) In Scotland, for December 2009, 97.2% of patients pertaining to the wing of Accident and Emergency were attended to in four hours, with the percentage almost touching the national average of 98%. (4) The facts discussed in the preceding two paragraphs strongly suggest that, both the NHS and also the Department of Health took a very serious note of the shortcomings highlighted in the Audit Report of 2004, and initiated prompt remedial measures. At this juncture, it won’t be out of place in recollecting that the audit identified the scenario of long waiting period as a major impediment in emergency care. In light of this, it is heartening to be noting that there is now a positive transformation in the related state of affairs, much to the relief of people struck with emergencies. Paramedic Education as a University Discipline The primary objective of having Paramedic Education at the university level is to ensure that, in long run, there is enhanced manpower involved in providing emergency services. It also needs to be noted that, when a subject is taught at university level, the knowledge gained by students is much higher than the one related to some short-term courses. The Paramedic Education imparted at universities is aimed at making the students as highly competent practitioners providing emergency care. Owing to this knowledge, the students develop a full understanding of various methods to be followed for different emergencies. They (students) are educated in various aspects along with a simultaneous study of numerous cases, so that their skills for handling diverse situations are par excellence. (5) Conclusion The reforms of emergency care address a pressing need of the hour. The Audit of 2004 did convey a few unpleasant points, but the same ensured that NHS and Department of Health run that extra mile in eliminating the flaws. Over the past six years, improvements have been witnessed in various spheres of emergency care, as is evident by the statistics. In the near future, much more enhancements could be anticipated, with the rapid surge in technology being a primary reason for this optimism. SOURCES 1) “Reforming Emergency Care”, gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4058836.pdf, Internet, Department of Health, ND. 2) “Press Release – Department of Health: Improving Emergency Care in England”, nao.org.uk/whats_new/0304/03041075.aspx, Internet, National Audit Office, October 13th 2004. 3) “Guardian”, guardian-series.co.uk/news/4452331.WALTHAM_FOREST__Ambulance_response_times__faster_than_ever_/, Internet, Guardian, June 2009. 4) “News and Releases”, isdscotland.org/isd/810.html, Internet, ISD Scotland, March 2010. 5) “OPEN UNIVERSITY PRESS”, mcgraw-hill.co.uk/html/0335222897.html, Internet, Foundation for Paramedic Practice: A Theoretical Perspective by Amanda Blaber, McGraw – Hill Education, ND. Read More