“…the EMS managers are usually not familiar with the EMS standards and principles. They don’t know the mission and philosophy of the EMS. They can’t manage EMS without this knowledge”. (Participant 1) “A constant turnover of managers is another issue. We have had nine managers over the past nine years. Each one was replaced by another person after having gained Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical experience about the EMS and making some new policies or plans”. (Participant 3) Low economic incentives for the staff resulted in a lack of motivation among medical professionals to work in the EMS, and leading to EMS managers employing non-medical staff instead. Low economic compensation

also led to a high work load among existing EMS staff. “Because of financial problems, a lot of our staff are working on two shifts. Some of them Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical are working at the hospital too and have two jobs. They are tired when they get home, which creates problems in their families. Their fatigue can also affect their performance on their next shift”. (Participant 1) “Working in the EMS is stressful and hard, but the salary is very low for a professional and because of that professionals Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical are not willing to work in the EMS”. (Participant 5) Staff qualifications and competences Most participants were concerned with the shortages of professional medical staff and the inadequate skills and knowledge of the current staff in EMS. Inappropriate

selleck chemical training Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical plans about pre-hospital trauma care and out of date, unpractical and inadequate training courses were mentioned as the main reasons for inadequate skills and knowledge among the staff, although they noted that EMS educational plans have improved considerably during recent years, especially with the assistance of Emergency Medicine Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical specialists. Malpractice, conflicts among staff members and interference from untrained laypeople were perceived to be the consequences of the inadequate skills and knowledge of staff. “We employ nurses and physicians without any basic training or practical experience of trauma care. As a consequence

of the shortage of professional medical staff and the fact, that they are not willing to work in the EMS, we have in recent years employed a lot of non-medical staff and trained them in basic first aid”. (Participant 1) “We have a lot of Sitaxentan useful training courses but management doesn’t ensure that these courses are practical. New text books are used for the training courses, but in reality we use the same procedures as we always have”. (Participant 2) Conflict between the ambulance staff and consultant physicians was another issue that was discussed by many participants. They explained that there is a wall of mistrust between ambulance staff and consultant physicians. “Consultant physicians don’t trust the ambulance staff reports and physical examinations.