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This report outlines developing a mechanism for a relatively low in price, portable, and mechanical ventilator prototype designed to bridge the gap in ventilator access brought about the COVID-19 pandemic. The key goal is to create a portable and easy to use device which will be capable of providing constant and effective respiratory support in areas having limited resources. The ventilator uses the Oscillating Cylinder Mechanism (OCM), which makes the ventilation smoothly and continuously. This eliminates the need for the user to put maximum effort and the patient benefits. Different ideas about designs were being put forward, concentrating on the portability, functionality, reliability, safety, and effectiveness. The OCM was selected because of its ventilation parameter adjustment ability to accommodate patient-specific needs, thereby functioning in a variety of clinical settings. Although upfront complexity and cost are developed, long-term perks such as lower user fatigue and maintenance expenses compensate for the financial investment. The end design will help in the emergency medical care especially in demand emergency situations, in ambulances, and in intensive care.

Bakgrund: Forskning inom omvårdnad har betonat vikten av ett personcentrerat förhållningssätt i vårdmötet, varje patient ska betraktas som en unik individ med olika behov att tillgodose. För patienter med ett akut vårdbehov kan ambulanssjukvården vara det allra första mötet som de gör med hälso- och sjukvården. Tidigare forskning har beskrivit att omhändertagandet i prehospital akutsjukvård fokuserat på det medicinska tillståndet framför de emotionella behoven, vilket har betytt att behov ur ett holistiskt perspektiv inte alltid har tillgodosetts. Forskning från patienters perspektiv är bristfälligt, vilket innebär att patienters upplevelser och känslor inte prioriterats. Syfte: Att beskriva patienters upplevelser av att få sina grundläggande vårdbehov tillgodosedda i prehospital akutsjukvård. Metod:Litteraturöversikt med systematisk sökstrategi. Datainsamling gjordes via två databaser, PubMed och CINAHL. Totalt inkluderades 15 kvalitativa artiklar, publicerade mellan 2011–2023, analyserades med en integrerad analysmetod. Resultat: Beskrev patienternas positiva och negativa upplevelser i ett prehospitalt omhändertagande. Resultatet presenteras i tvåkategorier och fem underkategorier. Kategorierna som arbetades fram beskrev övergripande känslan av att vara patient i prehospital akutsjukvård, vilket belyser känslan av att överlämna sig själv och hur det är att vara patient i en ambulans. Ambulansteamets förhållningssätt belyser viktiga hörnstenar som delaktighet, värdet av dialog, att känna sig bekräftad eller stigmatiserad vid psykisk ohälsa. Resultatet utifrån artiklarna belyser fördelar medpersoncentrerad vård. Slutsats: Patienter som fick sina grundläggande vårdbehov tillgodosedda hade en positiv effekt på dem och även en positiv upplevelse utav ambulanssjukvården oavsett utfall. Genom att fokusera på patientperspektivet är det möjligt för framtida hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal att öka förståelsen och därmed förbättra kvalitén på vården, med betoning på personcentrerad vård. Det är viktigt att varje individ får vård och omsorg utifrån ett helhetsperspektiv där både de fysiska och emotionella behoven tillgodoses, oavsett om det gäller medicinsk vård eller omvårdnad. / Background: Research in nursing has emphasized the importance of a person-centered approach in the care encounter, where each patient should be seen as a unique individual with different needs to be met. For patients with an acute care need, ambulance care may be their very first encounter with health care. Previous research has described that care in prehospital emergency medicine has focused on the medical condition rather than the emotional needs, meaning that holistic needs have not always been met. Research from the perspective of patients is lacking, hindering a comprehensive description of their experiences and emotions. Aim: describe patients' experiences of having their basic care needs met in prehospital emergency care. Method: A literature review with a systematic search strategy. Data was collected from two databases, PubMed and CINAHL. A total of 15 qualitative articles published between 2011–2023 were included and analyzed using an integrated analysis method. Results: Described patients' positive and negative experiences in prehospital care. The results were presented in two main categories and five subcategories. The categories described the overall feeling of being a patient in prehospital emergency care, highlighting the feeling of surrendering oneself and what it is like to be a patient in an ambulance. The approach of ambulance staff highlighted important aspects such as participation, the value of dialogue, feeling validated or stigmatized in cases of mental illness. The results from the articles emphasized the benefits of person-centered care. Conclusion: Patients whose basic care needs were met had a positive impact on them and a positive experience with ambulance care regardless of the outcome. By focusing on the patient perspective, future healthcare professionals can increase understanding and improve the quality of care, with an emphasis on person-centered care. It is important that each individual receives care and support from a holistic perspective where both physical and emotional needs are met, whether it is medical care or nursing care.

Under 2022 gjordes nästan 1,8 miljoner besök på akutmottagningar i Sverige, fördelat på 68 olika sjukhus. De vanligaste sökorsakerna var buksmärta, extremitetsskador och bröstsmärta och bakom dessa sökorsaker finns många olika diagnoser. Syftet med studien var att beskriva patienters och anhörigas upplevelser av och åsikter om akutmottagningar. Metoden som användes var en netnografisk innehållsanalys. I studien samlades text och sifferbetyg från publika onlinerecensioner av Sveriges största sjukhus in. Dessa sjukhus står tillsammans för mer än en femtedel av akutbesöken i landet årligen.  Resultatet visar på att de som skriver onlinerecensioner av akutsjukvård är en polariserad grupp och att över hälften (56,8%) har en negativ upplevelse av akutmottagningar. Resultatetpresenteras i sju kategorier av upplevelser och åsikter om akutmottagningar. Kategorierna är upplevelser av personalens bemötande, behov av information, upplevelser av väntetider, behov av smärtlindring, upplevelser av arbetssätt och den fysiska miljön, systemkritiska åsikter och olika upplevelser och åsikter om vad som är akut. Slutsatsen är att de som skriver onlinerecensioner av akutsjukvård i den här studien är mer negativt inställda jämfört med respondenter i andra studier. Delar av resultatet och de upplevelser och åsikter som förekommer i flera av kategorierna får stöd av tidigare studier. Den här studien har dock identifierat kategorier som berör vårdkontexten. Dessa kategorier saknas ofta i studier där man använt sig av intervjuer och enkäter. / Almost 1,8 million visits were registered at 68 different emergency wards in Sweden 2022. The most frequent reasons were stomach pain, injuries to extremities and chest pain. There is a great variance in the underlying diagnoses. The purpose of this study was to describe patients and their relatives’ experiences and opinions of emergency care wards. The method used was a netnographic content analysis. Patient online reviews was collected from the five largest hospitals in Sweden. They account for more than a fifth of all emergency care. The result shows that those who write online reviews of emergency care is a polarised group, with more than 50 percent holds a negative view of the emergency ward. The result is divided into seven categories which includes experiences and opinions of the emergency wards. The categories concerns staff attitudes, access to information, waiting times, pain relief, work processes and the physical environment, political opinions and different views on what constitutes an emergency. The conclusions are that those who write online reviews of emergency care tend to hold more negative opinions on the received care compared with respondents in other studies. Parts of the results and the opinions and experiences described in this study occurs in several other studies. Furthermore, this study has identified that some of the opinions regarding political opinions rarely occur in other studies.

Some innovations are termed ‘disruptive’, a designation that is normally applied to technology; examples include computers, digital cameras, and mobile phones. The term can also be applied to groups of workers, particularly if they are able to offer specific technical capabilities within a market at lower cost, but broadly equal and effective to that offered by traditional products or services. Paramedics could be described in this way and are a newly professionalised group, with distinctive capabilities in terms of responding to the needs of not just the acutely ill and injured, but increasingly those patients with undifferentiated non-life- threatening conditions, which increasingly make up the bulk of 999 call demand. The key to their transition from an artisan, skilled worker to professional status is the acquisition of certain ‘hallmarks’. Perhaps the most important of these is the completion of more prolonged education that affords the opportunity to graduate with enhanced decision-making and other clinical skills in order to meet the needs of the full spectrum of patients in the pre-hospital setting. Paramedics were surveyed to determine how they rated their ‘traditional’ preparation and to establish what their attitudes were to a more educationally based approach. Paramedics themselves proved to be realistic regarding shortcomings in established training and education systems, while also being strongly motivated to learn more within a higher education setting, particularly if this additional effort would result in being able to offer a wider range of care to their patients. During the study, major changes in the health care environment and the role of the Ambulance Service took place, leading to a requirement to undertake a second phase of research. This took the form of ‘Horizon Scanning’ in an attempt to detect ‘signals’, themes and trends in relation to newly emerging ‘competitors’ to the paramedic role. These included nursing, new practitioners and most critically, the rapidly emerging medical sub-speciality of pre-hospital care, staffed by medical personnel on a pattern found specifically in some European countries, sometimes termed the ‘Franco-German’ model/System (FGM/S). Hitherto, the model of provision in the UK had followed the ‘Anglo-American’ model/System (AAM/S), approach, with paramedics providing direct patient care in the field and medical staff largely involved in medical oversight, teaching, clinical governance and other higher level roles. As part of this research, the evidence base for change was examined and consideration given to the factors that might help clarify what the likely situation could be in 2030 in respect of ambulance services, pre-hospital care and paramedics. This future is uncertain, but factors have been identified that would militate in favour of one or other model prevailing, with close links established between educational preparation, system design, career structure and the continuance of the professionalisation process favouring paramedic progression. However, other factors, most specifically professional power, the absence of a clear evidence base and an apparent reluctance to clearly acknowledge this in some respects, lead to the conclusion that the future of pre-hospital care remains uncertain and contested, but also potentially amenable to a well-directed influencing strategy.

Introduction: When in care, patients are assessed and prioritised throughout the whole process of care, but to perform these assessments is a complex task. The emergency dispatch center performs the assessment and prioritise the patient over the phone, and do not see them in person. Often it is not even the patients themselves that are on the other end of the line. The ambulance nurse meets their patient when the assessment is made and all senses can be utilized. The purpose of the ambulance nurse assessment is that the patient should receive the best care upon arrival in the pre-hospital care and further in the chain of care. It is desirable that there is a connection between the assessments between the assessments that are made in the pre-hospital chain of care, despite that they have different purposes. Today a tendency to contact the emergency dispatch center prevails, and a general increase of ambulance assistance compared to earlier years can be seen in Sweden. However, the number of ambulance resources are limited and can in the long run become a problem for patient safety. Seriously ill patients must not be overlooked, and therefore correct assessments must form the foundation for those assessments that are being made across the whole chain of care. A well functioning pre-hospital chain of care is of significant importance for patient's security and for the following process of care. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate what differences and associations that exists between the emergency dispatch centers' assessment of the level of care priority and those from the ambulance nurse. Method: A quantitative study with a retrospective design. In total, 638 alarms were analysed via data from an ambulance operation in the south of Sweden. The result was accounted for by statistical analysis. Result: The result showed a weak connection between the prioritisation performed by the emergency dispatch center compared to that performed by the ambulance nurse. In order to strengthen the  validity of the study, the ambulance nurse different assessments (CUPS and RETTS-triage) were also compared which showed a relatively strong association. Conclusion: The comparison between the emergency dispatch center's assessment and the ambulance nurse assessment of the patients can be seen as problematic since they have different preconditions an purposes. The assessments are and should be different and a certain degree over-priorities has to be accepted in order to ensure that acute ill patients not should be overlooked. A stronger connection between these two in order not to endanger patient safety is however desirable. / Introduktion: Inom vården bedöms och prioriteras patienter genom hela vårdprocessen men att utföra dessa bedömningar är en komplex uppgift. Larmcentralen utför bedömningen och prioriterar patienten via telefon och träffar inte fysiskt någon patient. Ofta är det inte ens patienten själv som ringer. Deras prioritering har till syfte att rätt patient ska få hjälp av ambulanssjukvård i rätt tid. Ambulanssjuksköterskan möter sin patient när bedömningen görs och alla sinnen kan användas. Syftet med ambulanssjuksköterskans bedömning är att patienten ska få rätt vård i rätt tid både prehospitalt och vidare genom vårdkedjan. Att det finns ett samband mellan de bedömningar som görs i den prehospitala vårdkedjan är önskvärt trots att de har olika syfte. Det råder idag större benägenhet att kontakta larmcentralen och begära ambulanssjukvård än tidigare år och en generell ökning kan ses i Sverige. Dock är antalet ambulansresurser begränsade och kan i slutänden bli ett problem för patientsäkerheten. Svårt sjuka patienter får inte förbises och därför måste korrekta bedömningar ligga till grund för de beslut som fattas genom hela kedjan. En väl fungerande prehospital vårdkedja är av stor betydelse för människors trygghet och hela den efterföljande vårdprocessen. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att se vilka skillnader och samband som fanns mellan larmcentralens bedömning av prioriteringsnivån och ambulanssjuksköterskans bedömningar. Metod: En kvantitativ studie med retrospektiv design. Totalt 638 ambulansuppdrag granskades via data från en ambulansverksamhet i södra Sverige. Med hjälp av statistisk analys redovisades resultatet. Resultat: Resultatet visade ett svagt samband mellan den prioritering som utförs av larmcentralen jämfört med ambulanssjuksköterskans bedömning. För att stärka studiens validitet jämfördes också ambulanssjuksköterskans olika bedömningar (CUPS och RETTS-triage), vilket visade på ett relativt starkt samband. Slutsats: Jämförelsen mellan larmcentralens prioritering och ambulanssjuksköterskans bedömning av patienten kan ses som problematisk eftersom de har olika förutsättningar och syfte. Bedömningarna är och ska vara olika och viss överprioritering måste accepteras för att akut sjuka patienter inte ska förbises. Önskvärt är dock ett starkare samband mellan dem för att inte äventyra patientsäkerheten utan alla patienter får rätt vård i rätt tid.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Emergency Medical Care, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2013. / Background In the Emergency Medical Services (EMS), paramedics play a vital role in the treatment of critically ill or injured patients, as they are often the first link or point of contact for the patient in the healthcare setting. They may therefore also play a vital role in the prevention and control of the transmission of communicable diseases, provided that proper infection control measures are in place. The objectives of the study There is presently no national policy on communicable diseases and infection control that is specifically designed for use in the South African prehospital environment. Given the paucity of research in the area, qualitative multiple case studies were conducted to develop an ambulance specific disinfection protocol and to evaluate its effectiveness in the public sector EMS in the eThekwini District of KwaZulu-Natal. Methodology The study comprised of three phases. In the first phase focus group discussions were conducted to identify the factors needed to develop a disinfection protocol. The study population consisted of both operational and management staff from the EMS under study. The first four focus groups consisted of eight to ten EMS operational staff each and the fifth focus group consisted of five EMS management staff. Thereafter, the information gathered was used in conjunction with internationally accepted guidelines to develop an ambulance specific disinfection protocol (Phase Two). The third phase entailed the implementation of the protocol at seven ambulance bases in the eThekwini health district and the evaluation of the protocol with the use of an open-ended questionnaire at two weeks and four weeks after implementation. A single ambulance crew and their immediate supervisor from each base were utilized in this phase. Conclusion and recommendations An ambulance specific disinfection protocol was developed and implemented in the EMS under study. During the development, implementation and evaluation of the protocol, many themes with regard to infection control in EMS were identified. These themes were used to better understand the present situation in EMS in relation to infection control and in the formulation of recommendations to assist in the improvement of the present situation. The researcher recommended that all EMS staff require training and education with regard to infection control and prevention. The development and implementation of a protocol and policy document for infection control specifically for EMS is required. There is a need for the deployment of more ambulances and the employment of more operational EMS staff together with the appointment of Infection Control Supervisors at all ambulance bases. Without adequate infrastructure needed to meet infection control and prevention requirements, there may be a serious risk to both staff and the patients they serve. / M

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the degree of Master of Science in Medicine, 2014 / The earliest possible initiation of reperfusion therapy is necessary to reduce morbidity and mortality from acute STEMI. Therefore improving the time to thrombolysis where percutaneous coronary interventional facilities are limited or do not exist is critical. The most effective system would integrate three key components to deliver continuous patient care, including: 1) from time of call for help through to emergency response; 2) transportation to and admission to hospital; 3) assessment and initiation of thrombolytic therapy. The purpose of this prospective study is: to develop a chest pain awareness education programme appropriate for the South African context; to assess safe initiation of thrombolytic therapy by emergency care practitioners for STEMI; and to compare the performance of emergency care practitioner thrombolysis with historical control data.

A call taker is the first point of contact in the emergency service system and thus the interface between the caller and ambulance dispatch. Misunderstandings in an emergency call have implications for the survival of patients. Using an applied conversation analytic approach this study examined participants’ use of conversational repair as an interactional strategy. Data included 101 calls from a South African emergency medical services call centre. The data set was comprised of two distinct subsets, namely: the 107 and public corpora. The 107 corpus (53 calls) contained calls from a general emergency call centre. The 107 caller thus served as a mediating party on behalf of the public caller. The public corpus (48 calls) comprised calls received directly from members of the public. The data subsets afforded a unique opportunity to analyse ways in which participants to an emergency call manage asymmetries of knowledge. Differential patterns of the type and purpose of repair were tracked across both data sets and similarities and differences were explored. Both data sets showed that participants’ choice of interactional strategies was customized based on an ongoing assessment of knowledge asymmetries. However, whilst knowledge asymmetries posed some constraints an overriding interactional constraint, inherent within the institutional nature of the emergency call, was a rigid adherence to routinized protocols. The call taker’s dilemma was thus identified as the management of these constraints through the frequent use of conversational repair. Although a level of responsiveness is required to glean quality information from callers, high volumes of emergency calls would not be possible without routinized protocols. However, increased orientation to routinized protocols led to a decreased orientation to responsiveness. This research therefore showed that knowledge symmetry is not necessarily more advantageous but that successful call trajectory is reliant on the call taker’s ability to maximize the collaborative nature of the interaction and effectively negotiate through the judicious use of repair and other relevant interactional strategies. This has important implications for call taker training.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the extent to which registered nurses’ practice was affected by emergency department overcrowding. Participants were recruited from a tertiary hospital by using the purpose sampling method. Data collection was done using a semi-structured interview guide. Individual interviews were conducted with eight registered nurses working in the paediatric emergency department. Data analysis was conducted using thematic content analysis and Yin’s (2003:178) five-phase cycle. The study findings revealed that the lack of professional nurse leadership and the difficult existing relationship with the physicians were obstacles that had to be obviated if the paediatric ED were to function optimally and best practice were to be achieved. It was revealed that a problematic issue in the setting was that the most critical decisions on allocating where patients should be treated were made by physicians who have more authority than nurses. It was recommended that the ED need to be clearly defined in the policies as an outpatient, emergency care or as an episodic patient care area as “Admission” can mean admission to the ED or admission as an inpatient/boarded patient. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)