Urgent hospital transfers – The experiences and required skills of paramedics

An Integrative Systematic Review of Promoting Patient Safety Within Prehospital Emergency Medical Services by Paramedics: A Role Theory Perspective

“…For qualitative studies, [28][29][30][31][32][33][34] the appropriateness of the research design, transparency in data collection and analysis, ethical considerations, and the credibility of the study findings were evident.…”

“…For instance, errors in conveying medication instructions from inexperienced staff had serious consequences, but qualified staff handled urgent hospital transfers professionally and competently. 34 Skills in cooperation, communication, active listening, and the ability to access written information from the patient's journal before or during the patient encounter were imperative for paramedics to report and receive critical information leading to the expedition of emergency operations and prevention of adverse events. 28,34 However, to mitigate conflicts between paramedics and healthcare providers in emergency departments, what was lacking were mutual respect and collegiality, along with shared learning from incidents.…”

“…34 Skills in cooperation, communication, active listening, and the ability to access written information from the patient's journal before or during the patient encounter were imperative for paramedics to report and receive critical information leading to the expedition of emergency operations and prevention of adverse events. 28,34 However, to mitigate conflicts between paramedics and healthcare providers in emergency departments, what was lacking were mutual respect and collegiality, along with shared learning from incidents. They could foster better collaboration and understanding between them.…”

“…29 Paramedics experienced the heightened feelings of surprise, accomplishment, and uncertainty when they were tasked with transporting an emergency patient without the immediate presence of an attending physician. 34 The increased demand for ambulance services had a notable impact on the clinical decision-making process. Paramedics should have made decisions concerning a broader spectrum of primary care and psychosocial emergency cases.…”

“…In some cases, the absence of basic equipment in vehicles hindered time-saving efforts during emergency situations. 30,31,34,37 Several barriers to practicing hand hygiene during clinical cases were identified. These included a lack of access to suitable hand hygiene facilities with running water, limited availability of hand hygiene products, insufficient resources for drying hands before donning gloves, and potential skin reactions to alcohol-based products.…”