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Abstract/Summary
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<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec>
<jats:title>Background</jats:title>
<jats:p>Non-life-threatening cases treated by emergency services have been increasing in recent years, especially in older people. In a region in Germany with approximately 600,000 inhabitants, the role of a specially trained community paramedic (Gemeindenotfallsanitäter, G-NFS) was introduced in 2019. The G-NFS is dispatched to low-acuity requests, attends the assignment alone and is allowed to treat patients at home.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Aim</jats:title>
<jats:p>The aim of this study was to analyse the assignments attended by the G-NFS relating to the suspected diagnoses, with a focus on older people (≥ 65 years) according to their care setting.</jats:p>
</jats:sec><jats:sec>
<jats:title>Methods</jats:title>
<jats:p>In this descriptive, retrospective study, we analysed the anonymous assignment report forms 07/2023–12/2023 of cases where patients were aged ≥ 65 years. The suspected diagnoses (free text field) were categorised according to the International Classification of Primary Care 2nd Edition (ICPC-2) scheme. Furthermore, baseline characteristics, urgency of the assignment, provided measures, transport and further treatment were analysed, stratified by care setting.</jats:p>
</jats:sec><jats:sec>
<jats:title>Results</jats:title>
<jats:p>Of the 1,643 included anonymous assignment report forms, 52.9% (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 869) related to patients aged ≥ 65 years. In this population, the mean age was 80.7 years (SD 8.2), 49.6% were female and most were in long-term care, whether as home care recipients (34.8%) or as nursing home residents (26.9%). The most frequent diagnoses were categorised as urological (24.9%), general and unspecified (13.7%), circulatory (13.6%), digestive (12.8%), musculoskeletal (11.5%) and respiratory (10.3%). In 52.7% of the cases no transport was necessary, while 73.7% of urological cases did not need to be transported.</jats:p>
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<jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title>
<jats:p>The G-NFS was dispatched mainly to older people. Most of them were in long-term care and were not transported. The most common suspected diagnoses were categorised as urological, followed by general and unspecified, and circulatory, and differed by care setting. There is a strong need to strengthen outpatient healthcare structures for low-acuity health issues in older and immobile patients.</jats:p>
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