Prehospital care, which is provided by emergency medical providers (EMS), is important in minimizing the consequences of serious injury, including both morbidity and mortality. The major benefits of this are realized in the second phase of trauma, wherein deaths occur within several hours of the event. Most causes of death during this time occur due to airway compromise, respiratory failure or uncontrolled hemorrhage, all of which can be treated using basic first aid measures. Timely provision of care halts the cascade of events that quickly lead to death or lifelong disability.
Prehospital care can also benefit patients by preventing delayed deaths which is the third phase of trauma. Deaths during this phase occur days or weeks after the initial injury and are the result of infection, multisystem failure or other late complications of trauma. Measures used to prevent mortality during this phase include proper wound and burn care, adequate mobilization of fracture and oxygen and blood pressure support during the first hours of traumatic brain injury amongst others.
Even in countries with limited resources, prehospital care may be given by recruiting motivated volunteers and non-medical professionals in the community and giving them specialized training and basic supplies and equipment. Each community should identify the best method of transporting patients to the local health facility. Once there, a healthcare provider who has received more formal training can assess and treat the patient. This has a lot of benefits and improves access to healthcare in far flung communities as it provides citizens with the knowledge and skills needed to provide first aid to people with injuries, creates community capacity to render assistance to injured victim at the scene and enhances a community’s capacity to handle mass casualty events such as earthquakes and floods which are common in the Philippines.
Reference: World Health Organization. (2005). Prehospital trauma care systems. https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/publications/services/39162_oms_new.pdf