In other words, their work is very mentally demanding, and any mistake could endanger the health, or even the life, of those they are supposed to help. The fact that each of the sixty employees of the rescue service’s field base in Ústí nad Labem is also an active and trained paramedic testifies to the demanding nature of this profession. Sometimes they work one shift as operators, the next they go out in an ambulance to the scene of an intervention, or they even sit in a helicopter.
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“I know what to do. You need to calm down and be nice to me. I’ll tell you what to do before our crew arrives. First, please tell me if the mother is responding and answering you,” one of the operator politely but firmly reassured the caller at the very beginning of the visit to the Deník editorial center.
Similar words are said to be heard quite often here, sometimes they result from the stress of the callers from the place, other times people are simply arrogant and do not care at all that the rescuers have a lot of work because someone else needs their help more. However, operators must remain calm and balanced under all circumstances.
Rescue service in Ústí nad Labem. Operators must keep a cool head in any situation.Source: Diary/Janni Vorlíček
“We need to find out from the caller where and what happened, what the patient’s problems are. How long do they last, and if so, what is the treatment? This is extremely important for us to be able to assess the level of urgency. Who is at greater risk of life, and who, in quotes, less,” continued the situation of rescue service spokesman Prokop Voleník, himself an active rescuer.
“If we simplify it a lot, we just witnessed how a colleague performed resuscitation over the phone. This is really the highest urgency for us. The colleague next to him was talking to a patient who was suffering from abdominal pain. This is a different level of urgency, because he is not in immediate danger to his life, his basic vital functions have not failed, but we will still send the crew to him,” he pointed out.
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Of course, sending an ambulance isn’t all that stressful and stressful, according to Wednesday day shift supervisor Dana Urban. “But the problem is that there may not always be enough ambulances at any given moment and people call in different situations. They will call not only in the event of a serious car accident, but also in completely banal situations, such as when they cut their finger. In a situation where a small child is involved, stress is probably appropriate. We’re trying to be professional and stand it, but it’s not entirely easy,” she described.
Compared to the past, operators have a harder time. “For example, we don’t know so much about all the chronically ill, because back then, before unification into a single regional organization, we took care of a smaller area. Today, we manage crews for the entire Ústí Region, which for us means a much more efficient provision of logistics and operational management of all our crews. But we also had fewer ambulances and exits back then. The number of calls to the emergency line 155 and calls has been constantly increasing in recent years. Our management is trying to secure more ambulances and find people, but it’s not that easy,” confirms the nurse, who has been working here for thirty-two years.
Source: Janni Vorlíček
Once they know what the patient’s problems are, how long they last, what they are being treated for, they also need to find out where they should go. This is helped by modern technologies that rescuers can use. However, it is best if the caller knows the place they are calling from, or is somewhere on a street in the city and can describe where they are.
While in the past people could only call for help from a landline or a phone booth, today a mobile phone can be widely used. Some can send their coordinates with the help of location sharing, and the ambulance can also use the AML system, which stands for Advanced Mobile Location (i.e. advanced mobile locator), others can use the Záchranka application for the same, which anyone can install for free.
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“When someone called from a booth, they often didn’t have the patient with them, so we gave them some advice. We were glad that they performed it before the ambulance arrived and took over from the callers, for example, resuscitation. Today, mobile phones can even mediate the reception of images with the help of a video call. It’s not quite common yet, but if it is, we can see if people provide first aid correctly and we can possibly repair it or advise the next procedure. This visual contact helps a lot, but it’s still very stressful,” explained shift manager Dana Urbanová.
Speed plays an important role
Four computer monitors on each desk help the rescue operators to manage their work. “We have one as a telephone, the other so that we know at a glance where our crews are moving and which one is currently free without wasting time switching between individual windows,” operator Karla described the side monitor and immediately pointed her finger at the crew with number 144.
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“I see it’s on base and it’s fast or RV/RLP. That means a doctor with a paramedic. Or here we have the RZP crew, made up of paramedics. For easier orientation, what the crews are doing, when they intervene with the patient, when they go to the hospitals with them, is helped by the color resolution, which changes color on the monitor for each crew during the intervention. In addition, we have a map with additional information,” she described.
The described technologies, including those in five dozen modern ambulances and a helicopter, enable the Ústí rescue service to be more efficient and faster.
“Sometimes the work is very demanding. Despite all our efforts, we may not be able to save human life when people suffer very serious or fatal injuries or become seriously ill. We are trying to save everyone, but the human body, although a perfect machine, is incredibly fragile,” added rescuer Prokop Voleník.
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Source: Diary/Jan Pechánek
