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The purpose of this study was to introduce views of the staff working for the Emergency Medical Service (EMS), home care and emergency social services of Kanta-Häme region on non-medical problems of the elderly and responding to them. Another purpose was to present developing methods of multi-professional cooperation. The approach of this study was qualitative. The data were collected through theme interviews, and analyzed by using content analysis.The elderly living at home have several non-medical problems, needs and challenges based on the experiences of the experts. Loneliness and unsuitable living conditions were seen as the most significant problems. The ways to increase the well-being of the elderly were simple and casual. The greatest need for the development of multiprofessional cooperation was seen between the EMS and home care. In the future, it would be important to explore the experiences of the elderly about the multi-professional cooperation. In the future the operation of the service system of the elderly should be surveyed by non-medical problems. It would also be interesting to clarify the cooperation between the EMS and the partners that were excluded from this study.

Aim

The aim of this study was to describe the general attributes and competence that nurses in the ambulance's single responder units are considered to need.BackgroundThe development of ambulance care has led to an increased need for new units and working methods. Single responder unit is a single crewed unit that often uses for the patient assessments, to refer patients to the right level of care and to release regular ambulances. There is a lack of description of the needed competence for the nurses within single responder unit.

Methods

Modified Delphi with three rounds was used. The first round was conducted with focus group interviews and analysed with content analysis. Five competence categories and 19 subcategories were identified. The second and third rounds were conducted through surveys using a 4-point Likert scale and analysed with descriptive statistics.

Results

The ability to communicate with other healthcare providers to achieve one's goal, the ability to create a good encounter alone and to have appropriate professional experience were identified as the most important general attributes and competencies.

Conclusions

A central competence in prehospital emergency care is the ability to independently assess and treat patients with varying care needs in complex environments. To be able to work in SRU requires good communication and collaborations skills with other healthcare providers but it is also a prerequisite for creating a good patient relationship. Work experience of taking care of varying patients and situations is also needed in SRU.

Background

Ambulance care is characterised by disaster medicine, traumatology and care for acute illnesses and accidents. The focus of ambulance care is clearly on medical care, whereas interpersonal interaction between patients and ambulance clinicians appears less prioritised. A patient within ambulance care needs to be listened to, be taken seriously, be treated with empathy and be seen as a unique person. These are fundamental to delivering Person-centred care.

Aim

The purpose is to describe how the care relationship and interaction between patients and ambulance clinicians in prehospital emergency care are described in the literature and how they can be interpreted from a person-centred perspective.

Data Sources and Review Methods

A qualitative meta-synthesis was used. Data collection was carried out with PubMed, CINAHL Plus and Web of Science in September–October 2022 and in August–September 2023. The first article searching applied a timeline 1990–2022 and the second applied a timeline 2022–2023. A total of 13 studies employing a qualitative approach were evaluated and included in the interpretive analysis.

Results

Three themes were identified: A good care relationship, Decision-making and Hindrances to practising person-centred care in ambulance care. Trust, good communication and respect for patients' dignity were the most important parts of the good care relationship between patients and ambulance clinicians. Decision-making regarding the examination of patients, medical treatment and transport to the receiving care unit was one of the tasks that ambulance clinicians do independently but in cooperation with patients and family members. Person-centred care within ambulance care may be hindered due to environmental factors, attitudes and behaviour of ambulance clinicians and patient-related factors.

Conclusion

Many ambulance clinicians have already adopted Person-centred care, but several factors can hinder Person-centred care in interactions with patients. Although the results build on a limited number of studies, they indicate that person-centred care needs to be further developed and studied for high-quality ambulance care.