On the occasion of World Emergency Medicine Day, which this year is being held under the slogan Your safety, our priority, there are calls to regulate the situation due to the lack of personnel. Employees also point out conflicts and verbal violence and urge patients to be patient.
The purpose of World Emergency Medicine Day is to remind citizens and decision-makers to think and talk about emergency medicine and emergency medical care. At the same time, the European Association of Emergency Medicine wrote that they believe it is important to develop awareness that a well-prepared and organized system of emergency medicine increases the chance of survival and reduces the consequences of emergency situations for residents.
Professional and safe treatment is provided only by a medical professional who is not exhausted. Chronic exhaustion of medical personnel due to overload and the nature of work in the emergency medical aid (EMS) system, for example shift work, is dangerous both for employees and for the patients they care for, the emergency medicine section of the Slovenian Medical Association points out.
In addition, emergency medicine also faces a shortage of personnel, young people do not choose to specialize in emergency medicine, and due to overloads and inadequate working conditions, more and more colleagues leave jobs in emergency medicine and replace them with less demanding jobs, or even leave the profession , which they perform.
They see the solution in the section in the adoption and consistent following of relevant standards and norms and in suitable incentives. Only with systemic solutions and public awareness will the EMS system be able to help those who really need emergency medical help, they believe.
The Medical Association of Slovenia, citing data from the Ministry of Health, points out that more than 300 specialists in emergency medicine would be needed to fill positions and ensure the stable operation of emergency centers in hospitals, while fewer than 20 were employed in emergency centers in January.
They warn of threats, hate speech and violence
“We must point out that even in Slovenia, healthcare workers, especially EMS workers, face threats, hateful speech and, increasingly, physical violence on a daily basis, which we will no longer allow,” and they emphasized in the section of emergency medicine.
On Friday, the employees of the Ljubljana emergency room also pointed out the impatience of patients, including verbal violence. They called for tolerance, because after the covid period they are increasingly crowded.
The medical team of the Maribor University Clinical Center called on those responsible in the country to come together once and for all and fix the situation in healthcare, especially emergency medicine, which is very overburdened.
Source: Rtvslo
