Analysis of the service level and proposals for improvements for medical emergency routes in the urban center of the Canton Cuenca

In the town center of Cuenca, health services (both care centers and ambulances) are not distributed homogeneously in the territory. There are certain areas that have much closer health services than others, as well as areas with much greater closeness to ambulance stations than others. This situation is critical, since the travel times required to avoid serious medical complications, or the death of a patient can become very short windows of time (depending on the level of the emergency). The problem becomes even more complex when considering the technical-scientific aspects related to transport systems, where travel time depends largely on the distance to travel, traffic, time of day, the day of the week, among many other variables. Inevitably, the existing space unbalance and other aggravating ones, lead to both the required travel times, and the levels of timely emergency care are highly variable and even insufficient, depending on the area where the incident occurs. In this context, existing deficiencies become even more critical in times of pandemic, where a much higher frequency of medical emergencies is expected with a non -trivial percentage of too long trips that can lead to the death of the patient. The project focuses first on the lifting of an updated inventory of health services and ambulance stations. Second, curves will be calculated and mapped that delimit the real travel time (considering temporary variations and congestion) from/to a given point of interest (called isocones); In this case to health services and from ambulance stations. Third, the probability of timely care for different emergencies will be calculated, from each of the areas of the city, identifying the less and more efficient areas in this context. Finally, the project will recommend locations for new ambulance stations, ideal health services, as well as the delineation of emergency priority routes, which contribute to reduce response times. It should be stressed that, on emergency routes, private vehicles of citizens who have a medical emergency may also circulate. Therefore, and with the intention of disseminating these findings and putting them at the service of the population and health service providers, the project also contemplates the design of a web and mobile application where the routes can be accessed and obtain step -by -step indications during the journey. The results of the research provide scientific value by delineating a methodology of analysis of the level of emergency service, which can be replicated in any other city in the country, the region and even the world. Additionally, project research results provide social value in terms of population's quality of life, by evidencing deficiencies in timely care of citizens, which become inputs so that decision -making and public policy creators can implement the proposed improvements proposed

OUTSIDE THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS EXTERNAL FUNDS