General Practitioner as a Prehospital Care Provider

Introduction: Prehospital care is a health service provided on scene and during the transfer of the patient to a definitive center. It provides life-saving support as soon as possible to enhance survival. The most common modes of transportation include Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS), Ground Emergency Medical Service (GEMS), jet planes, and fixed-wing aircraft. The General practitioners (GPs) must be competent with multiple skills to provide high-quality prehospital care, and their role starts from the first inquiry call and continues even after the safe transfer of patients to the definitive center. Methods: A retrospective analysis of prehospital services provided by the Grande International Hospital emergency team over the last two and a half years (October 2021 to December 2023). Results: In total, 421 HEMS cases landed in the Grande International Hospital from October 2021 to December 2023. Among these 228 HEMS cases, a medical team led by General Practitioners (GPs) was present. Conclusion: General practitioners (GPs) play a vital role as team leaders in providing high-quality pre-hospital/intra-hospital care in the majority of emergency medical service cases in Nepal. Ongoing efforts to improve and expand these services contribute to saving lives and improving healthcare accessibility in Nepal.