New ambulance dispatch system will improve service

Paramedics in Waterloo region will be better able to prioritize emergency calls if proposed changes are implemented, the deputy chief says.

Robert Crossan, deputy chief of Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services, told CBC K-W The Morning Edition's Craig Norris that chiefs in Ontario have been lobbying for a new dispatch system for a decade.

"Right now, 80 per cent of calls go out as lights and siren priority response," Crossan said.

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With the proposed medical priority dispatch system (MPDS) that number is expected to drop to between 20 and 25 per cent, he said.

MPDS has the dispatcher ask more questions, which gives more information and can also allow calls to be prioritized so an ambulance arrives quicker for a heart attack than a cut hand, Crossan said.

"This is maximizing the resources we have to get the best patient outcomes," he said. "In EMS better prioritizing means we can get the right resource to the right call at the right time."

Crossan is less keen on other proposed changes to emergency services such as having trained paramedics on fire trucks or taking patients for treatment somewhere other than the hospital.

"There's no evidence to show this particular proposal of paramedics on fire trucks will make one lick of difference to any patient," he said.