Emergency situations with elderly people usually develop rapidly, and due to common basic dis-eases, changes in basic vital signs are more likely to be life-threatening and difficult to foresee. The key element is to be able to identify symptoms and react correctly as fast as possible. Healthcare professionals work at elderly people's nursing homes, but it is not their core compe-tence in daily work to identify emergency patients or to start their treatment. It is important to note that there is no standard process to develop and maintain these skills.

We made an enquiry for paramedics, and based on these results and our own experiences we were able to raise several developmental issues concerning identifying and taking care of emer-gency situations with elderly people. Examining, reporting, starting correct treatment, calling for backup and sharing information correctly with paramedics improves the quality of treatment and shortens the load-and-go time for getting into the hospital.

Based on this theory, we created training material for healthcare professionals working with elder-ly people outside of hospitals. The point of this training is not to increase the amount of emergen-cy calls, but to help to identify those whose rapidly changing situation requires acute care. The theory in this training is meant to be simple and easy to remember. We use the ABCDE-protocol for patient examination, which ensures a systematic and sufficient way of working. Research also shows that simulations are a good way to learn and to implement theory into practice.

This training session was offered at Metsolan Kartano, where we held two hours of training in April 2017. We asked the participants to fill a self-evaluation form in the beginning and at the end of the training session. According to the results, the participants believe that the training improved their skills to identify and treat emergency patients. The training was also considered necessary, and our contact person at Metsolan Kartano hoped that another training session could be held for those who could not participate in the first session.