State of emergency medical services in Nigeria

EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (LASEMS AND LASAMBUS) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES (LASEMS AND LASAMBUS) Increasing urbanization and industrialization of Lagos State has led to an appreciable increase in the number of road traffic, industrial and marine accidents and medical emergencies, hence the strengthening of the inherited base hospital care i.e. Lagos State Emergency Medical Service (LASEMS) and establishment of the pre-hospital care service i.e. Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) in March 2001. Both services run on a 24/7 basis and have led to significant improvement in the response time and quality of care with attendant improvement in morbidity and mortality rates occasioned by medical emergencies. These services cover: • Awareness campaign on the preventive aspect of medical emergencies including home/road traffic/industrial accidents; and how to access services. • Training of personnel in pre-hospital and hospital-based management of trauma and medical emergencies, and effective radio communication. • Establishment of an efficient radio-communication network linking the public, LASAMBUS, LASEMS and the Ministry of Health, with this including the dedicated (easy-to-remember) phone hotline (123). • Free treatment within the first 24 hours of emergency policy. • 15 ambulance points established throughout the State with plans are on-going to add 5 more. • Acquisition of 10 Nos. additional mobile intensive care unit (MICU) ambulances (with capacity to administer advanced life support) to the fleet of ambulances. • Establishment of the Marine Rescue Unit consequent upon increased incidence of vehicles plunging across the bridges into the lagoon. • On-going training and retaining of personnel. • Institution of pre-hospital care through the Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) to cover all the LGAs.(Download the ambulance locations here) • Strengthening of the hospital-based care/recovery through the Lagos State Emergency Medical Services (LASEMS) 1. Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja 2. General Hospital Lagos 3. General Hospital Gbagada.