Occupational injury rates in personnel of emergency medical services

Journal Title: Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine - Year 2015, Vol 22, Issue 4

Abstract

[i][/i][b]Introduction and objectives. [/b]The system of emergency medical services (EMS) in Poland was established in 2006. The risk of occupational injuries to EMS personnel is very high, irrespective of the country where they operate, as they face many hazards in their everyday work. The aim of this study is to describe the type, incidence and consequences of occupational accidents among the personnel of the National Emergency Medical Services in Poland (NEMS – land and air ambulance crews) in 2008–2012. [b]Material and methods:[/b] The study reviewed all occupational accidents among the EMS personnel reported to the National Labour Inspectorate in 2008–2012. [b]Results[/b]: In the period reported, the number of accidents decreased from 32 in 2008 to just 6 in 2012. Traffic accidents predominated and most of the victims were male paramedics under 30 years of age. The most common injuries included multiple organ injuries and injuries of the cervical spine, chest and trunk. [b]Conclusions:[/b] The growing professional experience of the EMS personnel has a beneficial effect on occupational injury rates as they tend to decrease with longer employment. Occupational accidents are definitely more common among ambulance crews than in the personnel of other organizational units of the National Emergency Medical Services.

Authors and Affiliations

Robert Gałązkowski, Aneta Binkowska, Krzysztof Samoliński

Keywords

Related Articles

Occupational airborne and hand dermatitis to hop (Humulus lupulus) with non-occupational relapses.

We report a case of a 57-years-old female farmer with occupational airborne dermatitis and hand dermatitis to hop (Humulus lupulus). The disease appeared at the age of 46, after 30 years of working with hop without any h...

Questions and commentary on the article ‘Daily changes of peak expiratory flow and respiratory symptom occurrence around a soy processing factory’

Questions and commentary on the article ‘Daily changes of peak expiratory flow and respiratory symptom occurrence around a soy processing factory’

Optimal body balance disturbance tolerance skills as a methodological basis for selection of firefighters to solve difficult rescue tasks

The aim of this study is the methodology of optimal choice of firefighters to solve difficult rescue tasks. 27 firefighters were analyzed: aged from 22–50 years of age, and with 2–27 years of work experience. Body balanc...

Pantoea agglomerans: a mysterious bacterium of evil and good. Part II. Deleterious effects: Dust-borne endotoxins and allergens – focus on grain dust, other agricultural dusts and wood dust

[i][/i][i]Pantoea agglomerans[/i], a Gram-negative bacterium developing in a variety of plants as epiphyte or endophyte is particularly common in grain and grain dust, and has been identified by an interdisciplinary grou...

Ticks (Ixodida) from the collection of the Natural History Department, Museum of Upper Silesia in Bytom, Poland – A contribution to knowledge on tick fauna and the first record of Hyalomma marginatum presence in Poland

There is no doubt that museum collections provide a wide variety of information on ticks. The tick collection at the Natural History Department of the Museum of Upper Silesia in Bytom consists only of 37 specimens as the...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP81034
  • DOI -
  • Views 142
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Robert Gałązkowski, Aneta Binkowska, Krzysztof Samoliński (2015). Occupational injury rates in personnel of emergency medical services. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 22(4), 680-684. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-81034