Einfluss von mobilen Erstversorgungstrupps auf die Versorgungsqualität präklinischer Notfallpatienten in einem „Hotspot“-Areal einer Großstadt

Low-acuity missions of emergency services, known as low-code deployments, constitute a significant proportion of emergency service operations in so-called hot-spot areas of a major city. The aim of this work was to evaluate urgency assessments made by initial response teams (IRTs) as part of the establishment of the “Altstadtwache Düsseldorf” project, to identify possible misjudgments and to examine their impact on the quality of care.

As part of the Altstadtwache pilot project, a prospective monocentric observational study was conducted. Centrally stationed IRTs were deployed in the hot-spot area alongside the regular emergency medical services. Deployment times were during the expected high-frequency periods on Fridays and Saturdays from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. the following day. The data collection period spanned 3 months from December 2022 to February 2023.

During the study period from December 2022 to February 2023, 257 teams were dispatched to incidents in the hot-spot area of Düsseldorf’s old town. Of these, 85 incidents were excluded. Of the 162 primary incidents, 10 were unnecessary deployments (6%). Two groups were formed from the base population. Group A consisted of 83 (55%) patients transported to the hospital. The most common means of transport was the ambulance which was specifically allocated for this purpose, with 44 (29%) transports, followed by emergency ambulance transports with 32 (21%).

By accurately assessing the severity of illness or injury, higher-level emergency resources of the regular emergency medical services can be conserved during the evening hours of weekends through the judicious use of ambulances or other care structures, thus preventing the workload associated with minor incidents.