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Scoop and go
Debate continues over a ‘scoop and go’ versus a ‘stay and stabilise’ approach to patient care in the prehospital trauma setting. Analysis of data from more than 19 000 patients presenting to a level 1 trauma centre in California revealed increased odds of mortality if the scene time was greater than 20 min in the case of penetrating trauma. Interestingly, this association was not demonstrated amongst patients who had sustained blunt trauma (Ann Emerg Med 2013;61:167–74).
Ambulance crashes
There is evidence to suggest that the risk of road traffic collisions is up to 13 times higher for emergency ambulances per mile travelled than other vehicles. Researchers from Turkey reviewed forensic records and identified 21 deaths of patients who were injured in a road traffic collision whilst being transported in an emergency ambulance (J Forensic Leg Med 2012;19:474–9). Their report is a grim reminder of the potential dangers of travel by emergency ambulance.
Ambulance diversions
Diversion of ambulances has been used in an attempt to improve the flow into …