Caring for Patients at High Speed
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Caring for Patients at High Speed

Björn-Ove Suserud Professor of pre-hospital emergency care, University College of Boras, Allegatan Borås, Sweden
Anders Jonsson Associate professor of pre-hospital emergency care, University College of Boras, Allegatan Borås, Sweden
Anders Johansson Lecturer in nursing, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden
Kerstin Petzäll Senior lecturer in nursing, Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden

Björn-Ove Suserud and colleagues discuss ways to enhance the safety of patients and emergency clinicians in ambulances

Aim The aim of this article is to explore whether ambulance clinicians in Sweden perceive their working environment to be safe.

Method Twenty four ambulance nurses and nine paramedics at five ambulance stations in urban and rural areas of Sweden were interviewed.

Findings After transcripts of the interviews had been analysed, nine issues that affect how participants perceive the safety of patient care in ambulances emerged: planning before departure; use of safety belts; driving at high speeds; patient first, safety second; equipment design and placement; noise; driving styles; presence of relatives; documentation.

Conclusion Ambulance personnel should have greater involvement in the design of ambulance care spaces and drivers should be given more regular training.

Emergency Nurse. 21, 7, 14-18. doi: 10.7748/en2013.11.21.7.14.e1213

Correspondence

bjornove.suserud@hb.se

Peer review

This article has been subject to double blind peer review

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 26 June 2013

Accepted: 09 September 2013

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