Emergency Medical Services - Purpose

Purpose

Emergency medical services exists to fulfill the basic principles of first aid, which are to Preserve Life, Prevent Further Injury, and Promote Recovery.

This common theme in medicine is demonstrated by the "star of life". The Star of Life shown here, where each of the 'arms' to the star represent one of the 6 points. These 6 points are used to represent the six stages of high quality pre-hospital care, which are:

1. Early detection

   Members of the public, or another agency, find the incident and understand the problem

2. Early reporting

   The first persons on scene make a call to the emergency medical services and provide details to enable a response to be mounted

3. Early response

   The first professional (EMS) rescuers arrive on scene as quickly as possible, enabling care to begin

4. Good on-scene care

   The emergency medical service provides appropriate and timely interventions to treat the patient at the scene of the incident

5. Care in transit

   the emergency medical service load the patient in to suitable transport and continue to provide appropriate medical care throughout the journey

6. Transfer to definitive care

   the patient is handed over to an appropriate care setting, such as the emergency department at a hospital, in to the care of physicians