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Overcrowding in the Dispatching Centre During the COVID-19 Crisis: Are Medical Students a Resource?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2024

Delphine Douillet Open the ORCID record for Delphine Douillet [Opens in a new window] ,
Delphine Plard ,
François Morin ,
Yannick Courjault ,
Gwladys Gaultier ,
Nicolas Lerolle ,
François Templier ,
Pierre-Marie Roy  and
Dominique Savary
Delphine Douillet*
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, Angers University Hospital, University of Angers, Angers, France UMR MitoVasc, Health Faculty, University of Angers, Angers, France
Delphine Plard
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, Angers University Hospital, University of Angers, Angers, France
François Morin
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, Angers University Hospital, University of Angers, Angers, France
Yannick Courjault
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, Angers University Hospital, University of Angers, Angers, France
Gwladys Gaultier
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, Angers University Hospital, University of Angers, Angers, France
Nicolas Lerolle
Affiliation:
Medical Intensive Care Unit, CHU Angers, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France
François Templier
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, Angers University Hospital, University of Angers, Angers, France
Pierre-Marie Roy
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, Angers University Hospital, University of Angers, Angers, France UMR MitoVasc, Health Faculty, University of Angers, Angers, France
Dominique Savary
Affiliation:
Emergency Department, Angers University Hospital, University of Angers, Angers, France EHESP, Irset, Inserm, University of Rennes, Rennes, France
*
Corresponding author: Delphine Douillet; Email: delphinedouillet@gmail.com.
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Abstract

Introduction:

In February, the emergence of COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID - 19) in France made it necessary to rapidly adapt emergency and SAMU services in order to take care of many infected patients. To respond to the increase in the number of calls in the dispatch centers, reinforcements were necessary on the fronts of the Medical Regulation Assistants (ARM). The aim of this study was to assess the relevance of medical students’ responses to first calls exclusively concerning COVID-19.

Methods:

This prospective, observational cohort study was carried out at the University Hospital Centre (CHU) in Angers. Twenty medical students mostly in the 5th year were voluntarily enrolled in the first line COVID-19 call taker team. Calls on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th starting day for each medical student, and randomly selected calls from the experienced first-line call taker were listened to by a medical expert to assess the adequate level of prioritization and orientation (emergency physician or general practitioner). The percentage of agreement between the expert, students, and experienced first-line call handlers were assessed. All participants gave their free consent to participate. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Angers (N° 2020-48).

Results:

From March 18 to April 23, 2020, 302 calls from medical students (n = 20 students) and 40 calls from experienced first-line call handlers were analyzed. The average prioritization agreement rate between the expert and students was 76.16% (95% Confidence Interval: 71.04 to 80.62%) (n = 230/302) compared to 87.50% (95% CI: 73.9 to 94.5%) (n = 45/50) for the experienced first-line call handlers (P = 0.15). Medical students took more time per call with an absolute difference of 2 minutes 16 seconds (P < 0.001).

Conclusion:

The lessons to be observed from this COVID-19 crisis are that in the early days of increasing calls heralding a strain on the healthcare system, support by medical students must be considered.

Keywords

dispatchCOVID-19medical students
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 18 , 2024 , e38
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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References

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