To the Editor: My observations over the past 10 years as an ambulance paramedic are consistent with the growth in demand for emergency and non-emergency ambulance services in Melbourne.1 Strong demand has been forecast to continue because 60% of patients who are eligible for emergency transport do not currently use ambulance services.2 The increasing demand for ambulance services — an essential component of the Australian health care network — necessitates the development of valid, reliable indicators of quality and safety in prehospital health care, to maintain and improve the quality of that care.
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- 1. Lowthian JA, Jolley DJ, Curtis AJ, et al. The challenges of population ageing: accelerating demand for emergency ambulance services by older patients, 1995–2015. Med J Aust 2011; 194: 574-578. <MJA full text>
- 2. Ambulance Victoria. Strategic plan 2010–2012. http://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/Media/docs/Ambulance Victoria Strategic Plan-f2b7ef6d-5ba1-48d4-80c2-91df87d1869b-0.pdf (accessed Sep 2011).
- 3. Victorian Quality Council Metrics and Monitoring Working Group. Health care quality and safety monitoring in Victoria: background paper. Melbourne: Victorian Government Department of Health, 2011.
- 4. Evans SM, Scott IA, Johnson NP, et al. Development of clinical quality registries in Australia: the way forward. Med J Aust 2011; 194: 360-363. <MJA full text>
- 5. Ambulance Victoria. 2009–2010 annual report. http://www.ambulance.vic.gov.au/Ambulance-Victoria/Annual-Report-2009-2010.html (accessed Sep 2011).
- 6. Hauck K, Zhao X, Jackson T. Adverse event rates as measures of hospital performance. Health Policy 2011; Jul 20 [Epub ahead of print].
I am employed by Ambulance Victoria but this letter represents my personal opinion.