Emergency medical services are a relatively young industry—it has been around only for the last four decades. Before the practice of emergency medical services proliferated, people used hearses to transport the injured, the sick, and the dead to the hospital or the funeral parlor—which is, quite frankly, not a very safe and sanitary practice. The so-called ambulance services back then were operated by funeral homes, and the people who manned the ambulances had very little—and more often, none at all—training when it comes to applying or performing first aid procedures to the patients. The years before emergency medical services were indeed dark ones—lives that could be saved were wasted because of the lack of skills and training, and patient care was reserved only for hospitals.
People who get into car accidents did not stand a chance against dying from their injuries without the help of emergency medical services—and in fact, more people died in car accidents in 1965 than in the battlefield of the Vietnam War. The United States Department of Transportation initiated the education on emergency medical services, and 1967 saw to the publication of the first emergency medical services textbook for medical personnel.
Fifty years ago, the sick and the injured were just taken by the ambulance service to the nearest hospital—or if the nearest hospital is not equipped to treat the injury or sickness that the patient has sustained, the ambulance will take the patient to the next hospital that will be better in handling the patient’s situation. That was the extent of emergency medical services back then—and because quick action is needed to save lives, a lot of people expired when improper first aid were applied to them. Even after 1967, not a lot of people were trained in proper emergency medical services, and this posed a bit of a problem to the people who are counting on those crucial minutes for their survival. But it was not only the medical personnel that lacked the capacity for emergency medical services—the equipment was often poorly designed too. Most of the ambulances used in emergency medical services were not equipped with radio connection to the hospitals. Some ambulances and medical vehicles were provided with emergency medical services kits—but most of them were too bulky to carry around and were not designed to efficiently address the needs of the patient. Because of these inefficiencies, the quality of medical attention provided to the patient. When the patient arrived at the hospital, the physicians and medical professionals present in the emergency room can sometimes get overwhelmed because some of them are not entirely familiar with the practice of emergency medical services.
To date, emergency medical services have definitely improved—medical professionals arrive at the scene of the accident more prepared, with equipment and skills that can greatly improve the chances of the patients’ survival. Of course, hospitals and medical facilities have since learned to respond to such emergencies better, prolonging the patients’ lives.