"If you miss that first step in the chain of survival, there is no second step"-Emergency ambulance call-takers' experiences in managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls.
When a person has an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), calling the ambulance for help is the first link in the chain of survival. Ambulance call-takers guide the caller to perform life-saving interventions on the patient before the paramedics arrive at the scene, therefore, their actions, decis...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279521 |
| _version_ | 1797847152379035648 |
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| author | Nirukshi Perera Tanya Birnie Austin Whiteside Stephen Ball Judith Finn |
| author_facet | Nirukshi Perera Tanya Birnie Austin Whiteside Stephen Ball Judith Finn |
| author_sort | Nirukshi Perera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When a person has an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), calling the ambulance for help is the first link in the chain of survival. Ambulance call-takers guide the caller to perform life-saving interventions on the patient before the paramedics arrive at the scene, therefore, their actions, decisions and communication are integral to saving the patient's life. In 2021, we conducted open-ended interviews with 10 ambulance call-takers with the aim of understanding their experiences of managing these phone calls; and to explore their views on using a standardised call protocol and triage system for OHCA calls. We took a realist/essentialist methodological approach and applied an inductive, semantic and reflexive thematic analysis to the interview data to yield four main themes expressed by the call-takers: 1) time-critical nature of OHCA calls; 2) the call-taking process; 3) caller management; 4) protecting the self. The study found that call-takers demonstrated deep reflection on their roles in, not only helping the patient, but also the callers and bystanders to manage a potentially distressing event. Call-takers expressed their confidence in using a structured call-taking process and noted the importance of skills and traits such as active listening, probing, empathy and intuition, based on experience, in order to supplement the use of a standardised system in managing the emergency. This study highlights the often under-acknowledged yet critical role of the ambulance call-taker in being the first member of an emergency medical service that is contacted in the event of an OHCA. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:07:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-42ace4e7ee7242b799c24712ee83cf87 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T18:07:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-42ace4e7ee7242b799c24712ee83cf872023-04-14T05:31:27ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01183e027952110.1371/journal.pone.0279521"If you miss that first step in the chain of survival, there is no second step"-Emergency ambulance call-takers' experiences in managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls.Nirukshi PereraTanya BirnieAustin WhitesideStephen BallJudith FinnWhen a person has an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA), calling the ambulance for help is the first link in the chain of survival. Ambulance call-takers guide the caller to perform life-saving interventions on the patient before the paramedics arrive at the scene, therefore, their actions, decisions and communication are integral to saving the patient's life. In 2021, we conducted open-ended interviews with 10 ambulance call-takers with the aim of understanding their experiences of managing these phone calls; and to explore their views on using a standardised call protocol and triage system for OHCA calls. We took a realist/essentialist methodological approach and applied an inductive, semantic and reflexive thematic analysis to the interview data to yield four main themes expressed by the call-takers: 1) time-critical nature of OHCA calls; 2) the call-taking process; 3) caller management; 4) protecting the self. The study found that call-takers demonstrated deep reflection on their roles in, not only helping the patient, but also the callers and bystanders to manage a potentially distressing event. Call-takers expressed their confidence in using a structured call-taking process and noted the importance of skills and traits such as active listening, probing, empathy and intuition, based on experience, in order to supplement the use of a standardised system in managing the emergency. This study highlights the often under-acknowledged yet critical role of the ambulance call-taker in being the first member of an emergency medical service that is contacted in the event of an OHCA.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279521 |
| spellingShingle | Nirukshi Perera Tanya Birnie Austin Whiteside Stephen Ball Judith Finn "If you miss that first step in the chain of survival, there is no second step"-Emergency ambulance call-takers' experiences in managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls. PLoS ONE |
| title | "If you miss that first step in the chain of survival, there is no second step"-Emergency ambulance call-takers' experiences in managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls. |
| title_full | "If you miss that first step in the chain of survival, there is no second step"-Emergency ambulance call-takers' experiences in managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls. |
| title_fullStr | "If you miss that first step in the chain of survival, there is no second step"-Emergency ambulance call-takers' experiences in managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls. |
| title_full_unstemmed | "If you miss that first step in the chain of survival, there is no second step"-Emergency ambulance call-takers' experiences in managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls. |
| title_short | "If you miss that first step in the chain of survival, there is no second step"-Emergency ambulance call-takers' experiences in managing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest calls. |
| title_sort | if you miss that first step in the chain of survival there is no second step emergency ambulance call takers experiences in managing out of hospital cardiac arrest calls |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279521 |
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