‘ICU on wheels’ to debut for transporting severely ill patients

A specialized ambulance for critically ill patients will be piloted in Gyeonggi Province.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday that it selected the central province as the target region for its “Pilot project for establishing a critical care hospital-to-hospital transfer system” to transport critically ill patients safely to final treatment hospitals.

The pilot project operates a dedicated ambulance with emergency medical personnel, including doctors, on board and equipped with the same environment as an intensive care unit to transport critically ill patients safely.

Due to differences in specialties and infrastructure among medical institutions, situations occur in which critically ill patients who visit emergency rooms are transferred to other medical institutions, the ministry said. In 2022, more than 28,000 critically ill patients, or 3.9 percent of emergency patients, were transferred to other medical institutions after discharge.

Currently, paramedics ride in ambulances to check the patient's condition and provide necessary treatment. However, experts have suggested that a transportation system equipped with special equipment and doctors to provide high-quality medical services is needed to transport critically ill patients safely, who require specialized treatment, such as acute myocardial infarction and stroke.

Against this backdrop, the ministry selected Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital in Gyeonggi Province as a pilot area through an open competition to push a pilot project to build a hospital-to-hospital transfer system for critically ill patients as part of its national priorities and the Fourth Basic Plan for Emergency Medical Care, officials said.

The dedicated critical care ambulance to be built and deployed through the pilot project is 1.5 times the size of an existing ambulance. It is also equipped with special medical equipment essential for life support for critically ill patients, including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

In addition, an emergency medicine specialist or critical care physician will be on board along with nurses and paramedics for specialized patient monitoring and emergency care.

The pilot project will run from October this year until 2026, and the ministry plans to expand the project to other regions after evaluating its effectiveness.

"We hope to improve the prognosis of critically ill patients by introducing a dedicated ambulance equipped with medical staff and equipment that can respond appropriately to changes in the patient's condition during transportation," said Jeong Tong-ryong, the Public Health Policy Officer at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Jeong added that the government would continue to enhance the transportation system so that critically ill patients can receive high-quality transportation services.