Prehospital care includes urgent care given to an acutely ill and injured patient, and, if necessary, their transportation to a health care unit.
The EMS unit carries a diverse set of medical equipment that enables it to provide high-quality healthcare despite the out-of-hospital setting. The emergency care providers primarily work in teams of two, and when on an assignment, one emergency nurse examines and treats the patient while the other asks questions and logs important medical information in the emergency medical care report. If the situation so requires, both emergency nurses may participate in the patient’s treatment.
| Initial assessment | When arriving at the location, the emergency nurses conduct an initial assessment of the situation and the patient’s status. This is to quickly ensure the patient’s basic vital functions, i.e. their breathing and circulation, are not threatened. If the basic vital functions are disrupted, the emergency nurses have medical equipment to support breathing and circulation. |
| Advanced patient assessment | The advanced patient assessment sees the emergency nurses evaluate the complete situation on the scene, including a more specific interview of the patient, examination, and prehospital care. If the initial assessment resulted in treatment measures being taken, those continue in the course of this stage. The emergency response centre and the emergency nurses maintain close contact. If necessary, the centre may dispatch reinforcements. These may include additional assistance from a different service provider, such as the social services or the police. |
| Evaluation of the need for care in a prehospital setting | The emergency nurses conduct an assessment of the need for care for each patient, which may potentially lead to the patient’s transportation to a hospital in an ambulance. If the patient’s symptoms do not require transportation to a hospital, but do necessitate urgent treatment, the emergency nurses may direct the patient to use their own transportation to get to the nearest emergency room or to their own local health care clinic the next day. The emergency nurses are competent health care professionals. Some of health issues experienced by citizens are best treated at home with home care instructions issued by the emergency nurses. |