Lambton Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is implementing a new Medical Priority Dispatch System.
The new system is intended to decrease wait times and direct ambulances where they're needed most.
"On November 18, the Wallaceburg Central Ambulance Communications Centre, which dispatches Lambton County ambulances, will be switching over to the new system, and the intent of that is to be able to make sure that we're able to prioritize ambulances to the highest priority emergencies fastest, and make sure that the right care is provided to the right person at the right time," said Chief of Lambton EMS Stephen Turner.
The change to the system is happening provincewide to streamline services.
"For years, the provincial dispatch system has used software to determine the priority of callers for 911 services for medical emergencies, and they are currently undergoing a process across the province to replace that system with the more universal standard that's used across North America," said Turner.
The change applies strictly to medical 911 calls only, not to police or fire services, and aims to ensure patients with the most critical conditions receive immediate response.
"The new system has a few more nuanced questions. It is able to drill down a lot quicker to what the chief complaints and medical emergencies are, and uses a variety of different tiers of triage to determine how quickly an ambulance needs to be sent," Turner explained.
The main change is the number of questions a caller will be asked to deduce the seriousness of the situation.
"We anticipate that the caller experience will be pretty similar to what it is now, but there'll just be a few more questions that the dispatcher might ask that really help to drill down to the nature of the emergency. But the ambulance call takers and ambulance communications officers at the Wallaceburg Central Ambulance Communications Centre are very professional. They're the voice you want to hear in an emergency because they're the ones who get your information, help calm you down, and make sure that the right resource is being sent to you in a timely manner."
The new system is expected to be fully integrated over the next few months.
