Yerevan Ambulance Service Responds Quickly Only to Most Important Calls

From Jan. 1–8, 2012, there were 9 cases of death in the presence of paramedics and 52 cases of death prior to paramedics arriving on the scene, Yerevan Ambulance Service Director Taguhi Stepanyan told journalists in the Armenian capital today.

Among the calls received by the capital’s emergency service, there were a significant number of toothaches, headaches (migraines), and negligible fluctuations in blood pressure.

“The Ambulance Service attends to all calls, but quickly response to those that are most important. If a patient’s temperature is 37.5 or 38ºF, then attending to that call in 20–25 minutes won’t make much of a difference, while arriving late on the scene to attend to a cardiovascular emergency can be fatal,” she said.

Stepanyan noted that often those who are alone and need to talk or make contact with another human being are those who call ambulance services.

“Many call us and say that the Ambulance Service is obliged to attend to them. There are cases when a patient shows his doctor’s appointments and presenting the list of medications, obliges the ambulance service doctor or nurse to treat him at home,” she said.

Compared to 2010, the number of calls in 2011 increased by 14,656, the Yerevan Ambulance Service Director added.