Evaluation of emergency medical service application from a geographical location perspective in Turkey

An important area of use of the geographic information systems in health is the organization of Emergency Medical Services (EMS). In this study, the EMS application offered in Turkey’s 81 provinces, in particular, Istanbul metropolis, which has the highest population in the country, was examined with a statistical approach. It was determined that the correlation level between the number of EMS stations and the population of the 39 districts of Istanbul was higher compared to the land area and population density; the number of EMS stations in the Fatih District was significantly greater than the median value of the number of EMS stations in all districts of Istanbul. It was determined that the number of EMS stations, ambulances, and hospitals in Istanbul is significantly greater than the median value of all provinces in Turkey; the population density per hospital and EMS station in Istanbul is significantly greater than the median value of all provinces, and the area value is smaller than the median value of all provinces. Ambulance response time, hospital transfer time and reasons for delays at these stages were questioned through a survey. The most common reasons for delay were traffic congestion, followed by the few and far distances of ambulance stations. Considering the problems arising from the geographical location of EMS stations and hospitals, it is expected that taking population density into account when planning EMS station distribution would contribute to increased efficiency in EMS and equality in access to services.