The decision to call an “ambulance” for patients or their relatives is often considered a big and complicated matter, and some may think it causes delays. However, in reality, calling an ambulance to pick up a patient at home provides many benefits to the patient and is not as difficult as many people think.
When… should you decide to rely on an ambulance?
Many people may start to wonder when it is appropriate to call an ambulance. Currently, it is found that 90% of patients usually travel to the hospital by private car. But in some situations, calling an ambulance to pick up the patient may be more convenient and increase the patient’s safety.
Things to consider when making the decision are simply as follows:
- Is the patient in a life-threatening condition?
Why consider this? Because when calling an ambulance to pick up a patient, the patient will receive rapid service from a medical team with appropriate personnel and fully equipped tools, including medicines, medical supplies, and life-saving equipment. This helps reduce the risk of complications and lessen the severity of injuries promptly.
- Is there a chance the patient’s condition will worsen if they travel by themselves?
As is well known, traffic in Bangkok or major cities is extremely congested. Transporting patients by private vehicle may make it difficult to coordinate assistance for clearing the way. However, ambulances have a network system for coordination, making patient transfer faster.
- Does moving the patient by yourself risk causing more injury?
In some injuries, such as accidents, improper movement can lead to more severe injuries, especially injuries to the neck or spine. If there is this type of injury, you should call an ambulance to pick up the patient because the hospital will prepare appropriate equipment to support the patient and prevent further injury.
- Is it necessary in that situation to use the skills of medical personnel and medical equipment?
Because bringing the patient yourself may cause delays in transfer. If the patient needs medical equipment, delayed access to these services will increase the risk to the patient.
If you find that there is even one item you answer “yes” to!
That is an indication that you should call an ambulance to transfer the patient.
Important information! To prepare before calling an ambulance
- Prepare the phone number you want to contact (hospital number or 1669 Emergency Medical Service)
- Provide information about what happened and the type of patient or injured person
- Clearly state the location and route to the incident site
- State the gender, age range, symptoms, and number of patients/injured persons
- State the patient’s level of consciousness
- State any risks that may recur, such as being in the middle of the road or a fire nearby
- Name of the caller and a contact phone number
- Provide first aid according to the staff’s instructions
- Wait for the rescue team to pick up the patient and take them to the hospital
The essential thing that cannot be missed is that the person contacting the hospital to call an ambulance must stay calm and prepare all the information to provide to the hospital as mentioned above. This way, you can help the patient access fast, accurate, and safe services.
Khun Sirikan Taothong
Emergency and Accident Department Manager
Internal Medicine Center, Phyathai Sriracha Hospital
