Dr Colin Bullard, Emergency Medicine Specialist and Medical Director for the Doctors Hospital’s Emergency Transportation Services said, the majority of the calls in the capital requesting an ambulance, are as a result of motor vehicle collisions.
“In Nassau for both the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Doctors Hospital, you are looking at about 15 to 20 calls coming in for ambulances in a day. But it gets worse on weekends and holidays,” he said. “Most of the calls for an ambulance are as a result of motor vehicle collisions and road traffic accidents.” Moreover, he added that pre-hospital care specialists, which include the ambulance drivers and personnel, are heavily contributing to the field of medicine in the country, but are being overlooked. He said ambulance personnel are certified paramedics or emergency medical technicians. In addition, he said they are responsible for treating and stabilising many patients before they are brought to the hospital.
“I think the ambulance crews, who are pre-hospital providers, usually get a lot of criticism. It is a very complicated system because they have to do priority call-ins. If someone has a gunshot wound, the ambulance drivers have to go to that scene first,”
“A lot of people are not too sure what EMS is all about,” he added. “They usually have to start the care process by resuscitating persons, putting up an IV or by stabilising a person as much as they can, until the person has reached the hospital.” In an attempt to highlight the importance of Emergency Medical Services(EMS), Dr Bullard said this year’s EMS week will be geared toward promoting awareness for road safety, in addition to educating the public on the purposes of EMS.
The EMS week will be held May 14 to May 21.
“A lot of people are not too sure what EMS is all about. They think it’s just an ambulance service, or the people who drive the ambulances are just drivers alone,” he said. “EMS is all about pre-hospital care. Whereas, the ambulance personnel are trained as emergency medical technicians or paramedicals.”
Dr Bullard explained that during the week-long list of events for the EMS week, some of the ambulance personnel would be visiting a few schools throughout New Providence. Moreover, he said all of the EMS personnel in The Bahamas collaborate with other important agencies, in a bid to provide the best service possible.
“EMS is bigger than just the ambulance services alone. EMS includes all pre-hospital care, whether it’s fire and rescue or whether it’s air transport,” he added. “In addition, all of the EMS teams which include the Princess Margaret Hospital’s national emergency medical services, the Doctors Hospital emergency transport services, MED EVAC, the airport authority’s ambulance service and officials from the air ambulance professionalswe collaborate our efforts.”
By LASHONNE OUTTEN Guardian Staff Reporter
