The Big Move: Five Mass Transport To Ankara City Hospital

Abstract

Aim
 It is a rare need for IHT that an existing hospital is scheduled to be closed. In this study, the process of Mass Transport due to the relocation of five different hospitals to a single target hospital is discussed.
 Methods
 Meetings were held with hospital administrators to plan the Mass Transport and an emergency transport action plan was decided. During the planning phase of the Mass Transport, each hospital was examined separately and in-hospital and inter-hospital transfer routes were created. During the Mass Transport, spare ambulances were activated to avoid disrupting the daily workflow of emergency medical services (EMS). In addition, EMS administrations of nearby provinces were asked to send their spare ambulances to Ankara. While 1 driver and 2 paramedics were assigned to a stable patient transport team, 1 driver, 1 paramedic and 1 doctor were assigned to a critical patient transport team.
 Results
 The patients who were transported from the clinics comprised 24.95% (n = 130) of all transported patients. Of all patients transported, 56.81% (n = 296) were males. The mean age of all transported patients was 46.33 ± 26.04 years (min-max; 0 - 93) (46.21 ± 26.45 years for females, 46.43 ± 25.56 years for males).
 
 Conclusion
 Pre-transport planning and measures are crucial for the safe transport of patients, especially in large-scale IHTs. In addition, an effective communication system ensures a trouble-free transport.