In Sardinia it is time for something new for the Regional Emergency Agency , ready to face a new challenge : reviving the old rescue network which has been closed for 26 years . This is a historic overhaul which for the first time will equip the Island with a new extra-hospital emergency system, with 20 additional vehicles, 15 of which with nurses on board.
With the Region's approval, Areus is preparing to take to the field on the strength of the new plan, the result of an in-depth study of activity data, compared with road travel times, flight times of the air ambulance service from three bases of Elmas, Alghero and Olbia and the reference population. The objective is to guarantee optimal coverage and adequate functionality of clinical care pathways in a vast and complex territory such as Sardinia.
Currently the emergency-urgency network is guaranteed, not only with the 196 base stations located throughout Sardinia under an agreement, but also through direct management with its own personnel and means: 24 medicalized ambulances, one medical ambulance in Cagliari and 3 medical ambulances in Macomer, Tortolì and Decimomannu. The service is completed by 3 helicopters, located in the airports of Cagliari-Elmas, Alghero-Fertilia and Olbia, the latter operating 24 hours a day.
But new funds will soon be available, 7 million and 400 thousand euros , which will allow a profound reorganization of the territorial network with a greater availability of advanced Areus emergency vehicles throughout the regional territory and an increase in the presence of the Third Sector - both in terms of new locations, and in terms of time coverage - essential both where the current demands of the population exceed the availability of basic transport but also in areas further away from the main population centres. Finally, the agreement of 4 equipped 4x4 vehicles is envisaged for greater effectiveness of rescue in case of emergency in difficult to reach areas.
An important step will be the arrival of 20 additional vehicles for the advanced rescue network, 15 of which include stations with "India" nurses on board, and the transformation of 4 basic stations into "India" vehicles, with the making available of nurses employed by Areus , for shifts on board ambulances. It will then be possible to start the "India" project, as the ambulance with nurses on board is called, already launched some time ago, on an experimental basis, in Macomer, Tortolì, Decimo-Uta and, recently, in Sassari.
An evolution of the rescue system that will see challenges and opportunities especially for the figure of the nurse. Around this professionalism Areus has promoted a conference with a round table for Friday 23 February in Nuoro. Doctors and nurses who work in the 118 operations centers and on advanced rescue vehicles in Sardinia will participate in the event and will have the opportunity to compare themselves with the good practices carried out in other regions such as Lazio, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy. An important training moment to enhance the professional nurse on advanced emergency vehicles to guarantee a widespread and timely response to areas currently in difficulty.
(Unioneonline/vf)
