An analysis of the influence of implementation of quality management system on the response time of medical rescue teams

Abstract

This article is an attempt to evaluate the influence of an implemented quality management system on the functioning of medical rescue teams through determining the efficiency of providing medical help by ambulance teams. It presents the organisation and tasks of Emergency Medical Services System. A comparative analysis of acquired information and data for two consecutive years allowed us to make a conclusion that the 2014 implementation of the quality management system had an influence on the improvement of the quality of medical services provided by ambulance teams from five sub-stations of Emergency Medical Service in Żary. The study was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2015. The analysis concerned emergency response of rescue teams for a period of two years of services provided by Emergency Medical Service in Żary. The main research problems resulted from a large protected area, thus, a complex organisational structure and the number of emergency responses in the area of Żary and Krosno Odrzańskie poviats. An analysis of medical documentation served as a research method in this work. The authors were acquainted with the Quality Manual, the organisational structure of the dispatch centre, the ICT system and the documentation determining the level of education and preparation of the staff. The study covered the year 2013, so just before the implementation of the quality management system and 2014, when it was introduced. Information was collected in accordance with the following criteria: town/city, team type, urgency code, time of arrival to a place of a sick call, patient’s age, disease classification, ICT system, medical staff. A comparative analysis of the collected information and data for the two consecutive years allowed us to draw a conclusion that owing to the implementation of the quality management system in 2014, the process of cooperation and dispatching of the system resources improved considerably, which, in turn, resulted in a reduced time of undertaking interventions and increased the efficiency of rescue activities of emergency rescue teams.