Incidence and Outcomes after Out-of-Hospital Medical Emergencies in Gambia: A Case for the Integration of Prehospital Care and Emergency Medical Services in Primary Health Care.

Background: The Gambia is going through a rapid epidemiologic transition with a dual disease burden of infections and non-communicable diseases occurring at the same time. Acute, time-sensitive, medical emergencies such as trauma, obstetric emergencies, respiratory failure, and stroke are leading causes of morbidity and mortality among adults in the country.ProblemData on medical emergency care and outcomes are lacking in The Gambia.

An assessment of critical care capacity in the Gambia.

Purpose: Critical illnesses are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in The Gambia, yet national data on critical care capacity is lacking.

Materials And Methods: We surveyed eight of the eleven government-owned health facilities providing secondary and tertiary care in The Gambia's public health sector. At each hospital, a designated respondent completed a questionnaire reporting information on the presence of an intensive care unit, the number of critical care beds where available, monitoring equipment, and the ability to provide basic critical care services at their respective hospitals.