Corrèze: Electrocardiograms carried out by the fire service

The Corrèze Departmental Fire and Rescue Service and the Corrèze Emergency Medical Service are trialling the use of electrocardiograms carried out by firefighters during emergency medical call-outs.

Over the course of a year, five fire and rescue stations (Bort-les-Orgues, Treignac, Argentat, Lubersac and Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne) were selected to trial the implementation of this procedure. Firefighters have been trained to use the device, but it is the SAMU dispatch doctor who analyses the results, which are automatically transmitted to them via the SDIS radio network. This assessment saves time when victims are located some distance from the emergency medical and resuscitation teams. It enables the dispatcher at the 15 centre to make a much more informed decision in under 5 minutes.   In the space of a year, firefighters have carried out 200 electrocardiograms. By the end of 2017, the SDIS plans to equip four further rescue centres. Within a few years, all fire stations in the department should have this equipment.