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Operations & systems
Mass-gathering EMS and hospital surge planning
Integrating emergency medical services and hospital surge capacity for mass-gathering preparedness: a structured narrative review
Frontiers in Medicine · 2026-09-28 · Added 15 October 2026
Structured narrative review of EMS and hospital surge integration for mass gatherings found median presentation rates around 6.2 per 1,000 attendees and transport rates of 0.35 per 1,000, but hospital effects too heterogeneous for firm conclusions.
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Design
- Structured narrative review (2010–September 2026)
- Participants
- Synthesis of prior reviews (41- and 22-study event analyses); no new cohort
- Main finding
- Median 6.2 patient presentations and 0.35 transports per 1,000 attendees; event-associated ED changes ranged from 7.5–37% decreases to an 83% increase in specific settings
- Caveat
- Narrative synthesis with inconsistent denominators — no pooled effect estimates
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). Mass-gathering planning is a real part of Australian ambulance work, but the evidence base spans very different event and health-system models.
Learning goal
Understand how prehospital planning and hospital surge capacity interact during mass-gathering events in Australia.
More
- Topic: Operations & systems
- Daily scan: 15 October 2026
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