The Hospital Emergency Department is highly significant for the health and lives of drivers traveling through the only intersection of two motorways in Poland. Although accidents on the A4 and A18 occur less frequently than on ordinary roads, their consequences are considerably more tragic, and the time between a collision and the provision of first aid must be as short as possible.
Green, yellow and red zones
The department’s head, a specialist in emergency medicine, Nikolai Lambrinow, discusses how the Emergency Department operates. “The department consists of three zones: the green zone, where patients with minor cuts and injuries that do not pose a threat to life are treated; the yellow zone, where we will admit for observation people with chest pain, food poisoning and other symptoms that could pose a greater threat; and the red zone for those most seriously injured in accidents and disasters, or in other incidents that have caused severe injuries or the loss of vital functions,” said Nikolai Lambrinow.
A specialized nurse will decide which zone a patient not brought to the department by ambulance should enter, dividing cases into less serious and more serious ones—those requiring immediate assistance.
Cast room, resuscitation and intensive-care rooms
The modern equipment has been adapted to the latest guidelines of the Ministry of Health. There are two resuscitation and treatment rooms prepared for life-saving procedures and any emergency operations necessary to save a patient’s life. From there, a patient is transferred to temporary intensive care, where, in a specially prepared room with strict hygiene requirements, they remain under constant supervision until they are transferred to the department designated for further treatment.
The Emergency Department also has doctors’ offices, a cast room, treatment rooms, a four-bed observation room and administrative facilities. Calls to emergency number 999 are also received here; this number should be called in the event of an accident. The Emergency Department can assist six patients at once, and in the event of disasters—even ten people.
Specialized staff and proven cooperation
During the morning, three doctors and six nurses work in the department. In the afternoon, the number of doctors decreases to two and the number of nurses on duty to four. The Bolesławiec Emergency Department also differs from other departments of this kind in Poland in one important respect. “Our emergency medical teams, which previously worked with the Admissions Department replaced by the Emergency Department, are in a sense the department’s external arm, and they know how to cooperate efficiently with its staff. These people had already worked together, know one another and have proven procedures for many situations. This is a considerable advantage that we can be proud of,” said Nikolai Lambrinow.Staff are also pleased with the new conditions.
Józefa Zyszczyńska, Senior Emergency Department Nurse, said: “In addition to patient safety, the quality of our working conditions has also improved. There is modern, very good equipment and spacious rooms.”
Bolesławiec important on the map of Lower Silesia
Roman Szełemej, present at the opening of the Emergency Department and plenipotentiary of the voivodeship board for healthcare, said that Bolesławiec had become an important point on the map of Lower Silesia’s medical services because, in the eyes of the National Health Fund, which finances the hospital, its role in the healthcare and emergency medical services system had grown even further.Roman Szełemej said that Bolesławiec had become an important point on the map of Lower Silesia’s medical services because, in the eyes of the National Health Fund, which finances the hospital, its role in the healthcare and emergency medical services system had grown even further.
“Bolesławiec appeared on this map because this is where the lives of patients brought in from accidents will be saved. This means that the county hospital will develop, and the standards there will increasingly approach European ones,” said Roman Szełemej.
According to the voivodeship healthcare consultant, the strategic priority now is to establish a landing site for the Polish Medical Air Rescue service in Gmina Gromadka, an effort he is pursuing together with Bolesławiec County Head Cezary Przybylski.
A department worth 5 million
“The main source of funding for the construction and equipment of the department is the European Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment, to which we submitted an application and from which we received more than PLN 4 million. The remaining money came from the hospital’s budget, the county and other sponsors, whom director Adam Zdaniuk thanked today,” said Bolesławiec County Head Cezary Przybylski.
The County Head emphasized that the Bolesławiec Emergency Department is obliged to assist not only residents of Bolesławiec County but also those from neighboring counties. The law does not allow it to refuse help to anyone injured in any situation.
At the opening of the department on December 18, the ribbon was cut by Hospital Director Adam Zdaniuk, Bolesławiec County Head Cezary Przybylski, Lower Silesian Voivodeship Marshal Marek Łapiński, County Council Chairman Karol Stasik and plenipotentiary of the Voivodeship Board for Healthcare Roman Szełemej. The rooms were blessed by Dean Priest Andrzej Jarosiewicz and Rev. Dr. Stanisław Kusik.
(County Office information/ii)