St John Ambulance Malaysia commander-in-chief Datuk Dr Low Bin Tick said a centralised and integrated call centre would cut down response time during emergencies.
He said that with the current system, there was wasted time and sometimes even wasted resources due to poor communication.
“Due to a lack of integration, two ambulances may arrive at the same place. It is a waste of resources and it ends with a lot of confusion.
“Sometimes, response is given too late. When an ambulance arrives at a scene, it is too late to save the victim. During an emergency, every second counts,” he said, adding that it was time to have a comprehensive system to link up all ambulance services.
Dr Low highlighted that most people manning the ambulances were not paramedics but medical assistants. The latter are people who assist doctors and are trained in first aid.
“A paramedic is a healthcare professional specialising in emergency medical care that is delivered outside of a clinical environment such as a hospital.
“A paramedic primarily works as part of the emergency medical services, providing advanced levels of care for acute medical problems and trauma cases, followed — where appropriate — by transfer to definitive care,” he explained.
He said that in the present system, an ambulance driver was also not trained in medical care.
“When a hospital receives an emergency call, a team of medical assistants who are trained in pre-hospital care are sent to the location. However, many hospitals either do not have such qualified people or enough of them. So they may rely on NGOs like us,” he added.
Currently St John Ambulance is providing emergency services to only Kuala Lumpur (south), Selangor, Batu Pahat and Pontian in Johor, Teluk Intan in Perak, Gurun in Kedah and Penang.
Dr Low said some ambulances were not properly equipped with medical tools such as an automated external defibrillator (AED).
HE said the AED was a portable device that checked the heart rhythm and could send an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm.
“It is used to treat sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), which is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When this happens, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. SCA usually causes death if it is not treated within minutes.
“Even if a good Samaritan picks up a casualty, he is untrained and can end up making it worse for the victim, especially accident victims, as they may unknowingly aggravate a spinal injury,” he said.
The Star
24/02/2011
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