Abstract

Emergency transport is directly related to the life of the patient, and rapid transport to the hospital is crucial. However, external environmental factors such as traffic or weather, interfere with hospital transport. In this study, we investigated the external environment affecting hospital transport time. We examined the transfer time and patient treatment time of emergency patients in an area of northern Gyeonggi-do from 2018 to 2020. Diagnosis after arrival at the hospital was used, and on-site treatment time was measured from paramedic arrival time at the scene to departure. Furthermore, we examined whether there was a correlation between the time paramedics left the scene and hospital arrival time through the reason for the delay as recorded in the emergency log. Traffic jams had the greatest impact on patient transport, while transport delays occurred due to heavy rain, but not snow. Among injured patients, electrical accidents were the most problematic in terms of on-site treatment time. This was because a lot of first aid is needed in electrical accidents. It must be necessary to mobilize two ambulances in an emergency through the expansion of infrastructure, prepare a plan for rapid transport in heavy rain, and implement strong laws against transport obstruction.