Emergency ambulance demand by older adults from rural and regional Victoria, Australia
Tegwyn McManamny, Rosamond Dwyer, Kate Cantwell, Leanne Boyd, Jade Sheen, Karen Smith, Judy Lowthian
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe the demographic profile and clinical case mix of older adults following calls for an emergency ambulance in rural Victoria, Australia. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study using ambulance electronic patient care records from rural-dwelling older adults (≥65 years old) who requested emergency ambulance attendance during 2017. RESULTS: A total of 84 785 older adults requested emergency ambulance attendance, representing a rate of 278 per 1000 population aged ≥65 years. More than 10% of calls were to residential aged care homes. Medical complaints and trauma accounted for 69% and 18% of attendances, respectively. The predominant cause of trauma was ground-level falls. Common reasons for call-outs were for pain (17.5%), respiratory problems (9.7%) and cardiovascular problems (8.5%). Increased demand was associated with increasing age and winter months. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults from rural Victoria have high rates of emergency ambulance attendance and transportation to an emergency department, particularly with increasing age.