Objective: To examine the time the ambulance needs to transfer women in labour, or immediately after delivery, from home to hospital.
Design: Descriptive.
Setting: Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Method: Ambulance data from the 'Centrale Post Ambulancevervoer', region Amsterdam, were analysed over a period of one year (1992/1993).
Results: Of the 287 women who were transported during labour with urgency code A1 (critical condition) 244 (85%) arrived within 0.5 h in hospital, of 124 who were not in a critical condition (urgency code A2) 66 (53%) (chi 2 = 47.2; p < 0.00001). The average duration for A1 transport of the 51 women who were transferred immediately after delivery, was 32 min. Of those who went by ambulance with urgency code A2 (n = 86) the average duration was 37 min. For A1 transport the ambulance is legally bound to arrive within 15 min. In 7 women (2%) the transport time exceeded 15 min. This was not associated with time of day or distance to hospital. Factors that influenced the duration of ambulance transport included the allocated emergency code, the timing of transport in relation to parturition and the distance between the home and hospital.
Conclusion: In the municipality of Amsterdam transportation by ambulance of obstetrical patients from home to hospital can in most cases be realised within 0.5 h. The difference in average total time between A1 and A2 transport during labour is only 7 min, but the likelihood of arriving at the hospital within 0.5 h is much greater with A1 than with A2 transport.