Comparison of mean on-scene times : road versus air transportation of critically ill patients in the Western Cape of South Africa
Date
2007-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Abstract
Background: The South African setting lends itself to the
extensive use of air transport. There is a perception with
healthcare providers that flight crews spend too much
time with a patient before departure. The main advantage
of aero medical transport is to minimise the delay to
definitive care and prolonged on-scene time defies this
objective. A study was carried out to examine the mean
on-scene times of aero medical and road transport of
critically ill patients in the Western Cape of South Africa.
Methods: In this retrospective observational study, all
critically ill patients transported in the Western Cape
between September 2005 and May 2006 were evaluated.
The mean on-scene time for each transport mode was
calculated. Road transport was compared with air
transport (rotor and fixed wing). Every transport mode
was further divided into mission types: ‘‘scene’’ missions
(scene to a healthcare facility) or ‘‘inter-facility’’ missions
(from one healthcare facility to another).
Results: A total of 7924 transports were included in the
study, 7580 of which (95.7%) were road transports. The
air transport group spent 53.2 min (95% CI 51.1 to 55.4)
at the scene compared with 27.9 min (95% CI 27.5 to
28.4) for the road transport group. There was a significant
difference between scene and inter-facility missions in the
air transport group (mean 31.7 min for scene missions vs
58.7 min for inter-facility missions; p,0.001). A significant
difference was also found in the road transport
(mean 24.6 min for scene missions vs 31.9 min for interfacility
missions; p,0.001).
Conclusion: The on-scene time for transport missions by
road is significantly less than for those done by air. There
are significant differences between scene and inter-facility
missions in both transport modes. Capacity building
programmes with ongoing education and training of staff
at referring facilities should be implemented.
Description
CITATION: Van Hoving, D.J., Smith, W.P. & Wallis, L.A. 2008. Comparison of mean on-scene times: road versus air transportation of critically ill patients in the Western Cape of South Africa. Emergency Medicine Journal, 25(3):136-139. doi:10.1136/emj.2007.051540.
The original publication is available from http://emj.bmj.com/
The original publication is available from http://emj.bmj.com/
Keywords
Critically ill -- Care -- South Africa -- Western Cape, Airlines -- Patients -- Western Cape
Citation
Van Hoving, D.J., Smith, W.P. & Wallis, L.A. 2008. Comparison of mean on-scene times: road versus air transportation of critically ill patients in the Western Cape of South Africa. Emergency Medicine Journal, 25(3):136-139. doi:10.1136/emj.2007.051540.