Investigation on the security of patients and workers intended to the staff working for pre-hospital emergency services

SUMMARYHundred of thousands emergency service staff provide millions of services for emergency medical intervention and referral. In order to provide each patient with the most appropriate care at the optimal level and with minimum delay, many people and foundation works effectively in a harmony with each other. In the first intervention, the decisions taken and emergency interventions done by the emergency service staff defines the difference between death and life. Emergency service staff provides service to people in a bad illuminated, confined, noisy environment and with the unknown qualities of emergency case scene. These cases makes emergency medicine services unique. During this unique service, it is thought to be inevitable for invasions against patient?s and worker?s security to occur.Target: It is known that emergency help offer is effected negatively by many known factors (emergency time, fast decision making, interrupting care process, environment which is out of control, tension, restraint, educational changes, tiredness of worker, etc.) and increases mistakes moreover these mistakes may cause destructive results. High quality emergency medicine services which ensures the security of both workers and patients are necessary to provide optimal care in accidents and emergency disorders. This study is intended to be a source aiming at defining the factors effecting the security of patients and workers in pre-hospital emergency services.Method: The research has been done with the attendence of volunteer physicians, paramedics, nurses, emergency medicine technicians, and drivers working for 112 Emergency Service in İzmir. No sample has been chosen in the research. The people accepting to participate in the research were reached in their duty days at `112 station units? where they work and they were made to fill questionnaries by using the method of face-to-face questionnaire. 300 personels were given questionnaires during the period of the research and 180 of these questionnaires turned back. However 9 completed questionnaire were excluded from the analysis. 171 questionnaires were analyzed in total. While composing the questionnaire, Patient Safety Culture Questionnnaire prepared by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and ?112 Service Quality Standards? were used. Internal validity of the questionnaire were ensured by expert analysis and literature research. The structural validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by making factor analysis. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated through Cronbach Alpha analysis with independent variables. Afterwards, defining statistics, hypothesis tests, and inferencing statistics were done. In this respect, T-test, ANOVA test, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were used. The data gained were analyzed with the use of SPSS 16.0 (Statistical Programme for Social Sciences).Findings: The workers participated in the research have found, in order of importance, team management, team perception of the workers, and ambulance services to be important and necessary for pre-hospital emergency services to be appropriate. The factors affecting workers to feel themselves in security have been defined as the support of management and self-protecting equipment. It has been determined that according to their porfessions there are differences among the perception of workers about pre-hospital emergency services, patient's security, and worker?s security.Result: It is seen that there are some deficiencies and some areas open to be upgraded in pre-hospital emergency services in order to ensure the patients? and workers? security at the optimum level. In the first and most important stage of health service offer, it must be among the priorities of national health system to ensure the security of patients and workers, and to prevent medical mistakes. Leaders have great responsibilities in providing emergency service in a fast and effective way without threatening the security of patients and workers. Learning to take lessons by observing mistakes and founding organizations for this aim are the most important duties of executives. The executives of institutions must play an active role in eliminating the deficiencies in these areas in order to provide an effective, fast, and superior service. In providing pre-hospital emergency services, the professional differences of the workers who are working in strategic planning and activities performed in quality improvement studies must also be considered.Key Words: Pre-hospital emergency services, security of patient, security of worker