Ambulance personnel in Urban Search And Rescue as perceived by USAR-trained firefighters and police officers – a qualitative study

Abstract

Background: Rescue work is part of the emergency services’ responsibility, and defined as situations where those that need health care are difficult to access, or that more resources are needed than the health services alone possess and can put in operation. The three emergency services, civil protection, armed forces, non-governmental organizations, the business world, and others are all part of the ”rescue family” in Norway, all with different response times. The initial effort in a large-scale accident must be performed by the emergency services as time in severe accidents is of the essence. This study looks into how and whether firefighters and police officers trained in Urban Search And Rescue have experienced ambulance personnel contribute in the dangerous area. Methods: We conducted five focus group interviews, three with USAR trained firefighters and two with USAR-trained police patrol dog handlers. The interviewees were not preselected, but merely those at watch on the agreed dates. The interviews were transcribed and then analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were chosen; Feeling safe during missions, Building USAR-capacity and Trust-building within USAR-teams. The firefighters and police officers reported their own and patients’ safety is best managed by EMS-personnel. They feel and have experienced that EMS presence contributes significantly to their own feeling of safety. When EMS handles victims and injured emergency workers, they can themselves focus on their own primary tasks. Building a USAR-capacity are, in their view, dependent on having trained EMS-personnel in the Hot Zone. They have clear and consistent opinions on how to build this capacity effectively. Trust is paramount for the informants, and they express a high degree of it within USAR Oslo. Even those that have less or no experience in cooperating with EMS in USAR-incidents, report they trust them to be highly valuable in the dangerous area. Conclusions: Firefighters and police officers value the presence of USAR-trained EMS workers in the Hot Zone. They regard an effective USAR-effort without EMS as less effective and safe and have clear opinions on how to establish and maintain such a service.