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The organization of ambulance decontamination during the COVID-19 pandemic: a process analysis based on the Lean Thinking philosophy

Authors

Guglielmo Imbriaco
guglielmo.imbriaco.work@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2385-989X
Prehospital Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre Emilia Est; Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, Maggiore Hospital Carlo Alberto Pizzardi, Azienda USL di Bologna, Bologna; Critical Care Nursing Master Course, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Alfonso Flauto
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4929-7795
Prehospital Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre Emilia Est; Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, Maggiore Hospital Carlo Alberto Pizzardi, Azienda USL di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to massively increased emergency medical services (EMS) activity. The need to decontaminate emergency vehicles after conveying a suspected or confirmed patient to the hospital represented a critical step, slowing the activities and impacting the number of available ambulances. This brief paper analyzes the flow of EMS processes according to the Lean Thinking management approach, which focuses on reducing waste in a production cycle. The different steps of the whole process (arrival to the Emergency Department, handover phase, decontamination, return to service, and the required transfers) and a series of strategies are discussed. The organization (centralized or delocalized), number, and location of the decontamination centers impact transfers and waiting times and, consequently, the availability of ambulances. Optimizing these processes may lead to a global performance improvement, reducing transfers and time, with greater availability of emergency vehicles.

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How to Cite

Imbriaco, G., & Flauto, A. (2023). The organization of ambulance decontamination during the COVID-19 pandemic: a process analysis based on the Lean Thinking philosophy. Emergency Care Journal, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2023.11646
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