Taking an ambulance to the ER does not ensure that you will be seen faster. A decent chunk of ambulance patients go right out to the lobby to wait like everyone else because everyone is triaged based on their illness or injury, not their mode of transportation.
Isn't this just an expected correlation? Most people who take an ambulance to the E.R. will be seen quicker because most people who are in an ambulance have an emergency so they have a a reason to be seen quicker.
There are a lot of people who call ambulances for inane, non-emergency bullshit. I've seen people come in by ambulance for minor complaints that have been ongoing for months or even years.
This is fact. And to add to this, its actually better and you will be seen quicker if you drive/have someone drive you to the hospital if you are gunshot or have a major stab wound. The chances of survival are much better then waiting for an ambulance. And if you are in that situation, speed as fast as you safely can. IF you get pulled over make sure the cop knows the situation so they can escort you to the hospital.
Eh, for some significant trauma, the ambulance is better because they know which hospitals are equipped for the emergency in question and which hospitals have resuscitation or trauma bays open. They call ahead too which also allows for the ER staff to prepare and have people standing by to receive you.
I have also worked at a Level 1 Trauma hospital, and I think it depends on the distance from the hospital and the degree of specialty care needed. Also, since Covid, there have been more and more staffing and capacity problems in ERs. Taking a critical patient to an ER with no available resus bays that is also boarding ICU patients due to a lack of ICU staffing is going to be less effective and less safe than going the extra distance to a hospital that does have the capacity to care for the patient. Studies from before 2020 are just not relevant anymore.
This is VERY country specific. In some countries ambulances focus on fast transport with minimal care in the ambulance (IIRC this is the case in the US), elsewhere they can provide significant first aid while on the way. If it takes you 15 minutes to the hospital and the ambulance needs 10 to get to you and 10 to the hospital, you'll be at the hospital 5 minutes later but will receive care 5 minutes sooner.
In Germany the ambulance will have what I think would be equivalent to one EMT-B and one paramedic, but a emergency physician may be brought to the scene with a separate car.
American ambulances are usually an EMT and a Paramedic that can start some pretty advanced care en route. Paramedics can intubate, defibrillate, and give medications on their own authority or with clearance from the EMS medical director.
Here we have different ambulances for different use cases and locations.
For example, in the city, they will mostly have those sleek fast ambulances and in rural areas, they use more boxy ambulances with more capabilities.