If you are an EMS dispatcher, please note the following updates:
-Emergency dispatchers must acquire the required emergency event and patient location before helping to determine if the patient is unconscious with abnormal breathing. If the patient is unconscious with abnormal breathing, it is reasonable for the dispatcher to assume the patient is in cardiac arrest.
-Emergency dispatchers should be educated to identify if someone is unconscious with abnormal or agonal breathing, or periodic gasping, across a broad range of clinical presentations and decriptions.
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-Dispatchers should give compression-only CPR instructions to callers for adults with suspected OHCA.
-EMS systems should have protocols that address triaging the patient, when possible, directly to a stroke center. Dispatchers should be trained to suspect stroke and to quickly dispatch emergency responders. Responders should be capable of performing stroke assessment, establish time of onset, provide cardiopulmonary support, and notify the receiving hospital in advance of incoming stroke patient arrival. |
