To Örebro University

Background: There has been an increasing demand for emergency medical services (EMS), and a growing number of patients are not conveyed; i.e., they are referred to levels of care other than ambulance conveyance to the emergency department. Patient safety issues have been raised regarding the ability of EMS to decide not to convey patients. To improve non-conveyance guidelines, information is needed about patients who are not conveyed by EMS. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe and compare the proportion and characteristics of non-conveyed EMS patients, together with assignment data.

Methods: A descriptive and comparative consecutive cohort design was undertaken. The decision of whether to convey patients was made by EMS according to a region-specific non-conveyance guideline. Non-conveyed patients' medical record data were prospectively gathered from February 2016 to January 2017. Analyses was conducted using the chi-squared test, two-sample t test, proportion test and Mann-Whitneys U-test.

Results: Out of the 23,250 patients served during the study period, 2691 (12%) were not conveyed. For non-conveyed adults, the most commonly used Emergency Signs and Symptoms (ESS) codes were unspecific symptoms/malaise, abdomen/flank/groin pain, and breathing difficulties. For non-conveyed children, the most common ESS codes were breathing difficulties and fever of unclear origin. Most of the non-conveyed patients had normal vital signs. Half of all patients with a designated non-conveyance level of care were referred to self-care. There were statistically significant differences between men and women.

Conclusions: Fewer patients were non-conveyed in the studied region compared to national and international non-conveyance rates. The differences seen between men and women were not of clinical significance. Follow-up studies are needed to understand what effect patient outcome so that guidelines might improve.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore ambulance nurses' (ANs) experiences of non-conveying patients to alternate levels of care.

BACKGROUND: Increases in ambulance utilisation and in the number of patients seeking ambulance care who do not require medical supervision or treatment during transport have led to increased nonconveyance (NC) and referral to other levels of care.

DESIGN: A qualitative interview study was conducted using an inductive research approach.

METHODS: The study was conducted in a region in the middle of Sweden during 2016-2017. Twenty nurses were recruited from the ambulance departments in the region. A conventional content analysis was used to analyse the interviews. The study followed the COREQ checklist.

RESULTS: The ANs experienced NC as a complex and difficult task that carried a large amount of responsibility. They wanted to be professional, spend time with the patient and find the best solution for him or her. These needs conflicted with the ANs' desire to be available for assignments with a higher priority. The ANs could feel frustrated when they perceived that ambulance resources were being misused and when it was difficult to follow the NC guidelines.

CONCLUSION: If ANs are expected to nonconvey patients seeking ambulance care, they need a formal mandate, knowledge and access to primary health care.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study provides new knowledge regarding the work situation of ANs in relation to NC. These findings can guide future research and can be used by policymakers and ambulance organisations to highlight areas that need to evolve to improve patient care.