Taipei City Fire Department

The Taipei City Fire Department's successful rescue rate of OHCA (out-of-hospital cardiac arrest) patients had reached a historical high. By the end of November this year, patients who recovered and left the hospital from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, no breathing or no heartbeat, had reached up to 107 people, breaking the record of last year. Since the founding of the “Golden Phoenix Special Rescue Team” in 1999, 812 OHCA patients had been successfully saved and discharged from hospitals after recovery. For those 812 people, it was not just about helping them to restore their lives after being discharged from the hospital, but the most valuable thing was that 812 families had been saved from being torn apart. Such successful achievement was accompanied by contributions made by compassionate individuals, groups and temples that were self-motivated to donate ambulances and equipment to the Taipei City Fire Department. By December this year, at least one automatic CPR unit had been distributed to each fire department branch. Traditionally, EMT specialists weren't able to perform CPR when they were trying to move the patients. Now, the device could continuously provide high quality CPR to OHCA patients during transporting to the hospitals and in the elevator as well. The device could also lower the risks for EMT personnel when performing CPR and significantly increased the efficiency of the rescue process.
 
The Fire Department pointed out that there are about 130,000 to 140,000 emergency cases in Taipei each year, an average of one case in every 4 minutes. Since Mayor Ko took up the post in Taipei City, his mission as a mayor/doctor was to stand at the front line to save lives and care for every citizen and improve the emergency medical system of pre-hospital care, in addition to building a healthy municipal administration. 102 patients who survived from cardiac arrest were successfully discharged from hospitals in 2015; more success came in 2016, where the number of discharged patients reached 105. Patients' recovery and discharge rate were twice of that in the previous period, and the rate had climbed to a record high this year. In addition, performance in the other three major critical conditions was also very successful. The rate of transporting severely injured patients directly to the proper hospital unit was 87.9%; the rate of ischemic stroke patients to receive thrombolytic agent (rt-PA) was 13.78%; pre-hospital ECG diagnosis of myocardial infarction successfully saved 7 patients. Moreover, in order to improve OHCA patients receiving immediate CPR, the Fire Department had actively taught civilians how to identify OHCA patients and how to perform CPR and utilize AED (Automated External Defibrillator) correctly. Rate of bystanders performing CPR had reached up to 39% by October this year.
 
Due to limited emergency rescue and medical resources, EMT staff will recommend a suitable hospital that is near the incident based on the location of the incident and the patient's condition. Therefore, people who require 119 emergency services will need to understand the scarcity of ambulance resources and appreciate the allocation made by the professional EMT personnel rather than insisting on being assigned to a hospital that is too far away or where the emergency room is already full. In addition, the Fire Department will also continue to improve the quality of emergency services in Taipei and strive to be a reliable protector of the public, making Taipei a sustainably livable city.