Pilot program aims to shorten EMS response times
Posted Nov 22, 2011 04:23:44 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Region is looking to shorten emergency response times by shortening the 9-1-1 process.
Waterloo Region is one of four places in Ontario taking part in the six month pilot program that shortens response times by digitizing part of the 9-1-1 process.
The Region’s Director of Ambulance Services, John Prno tells 570’s Gary Doyle Show, the system is cheaper than other methods. “We’ve calculated that to save a minute by just adding resources…is about a $4 million cost a year. So, to save 30 seconds at essential no cost, $15,000-$20,000 dollars a year, is huge.”
Prno says the program essentially cuts out some of the middle-men during the 9-1-1 process. It gathers information from the police and ambulance dispatchers digitally, decides whether a tiered response is needed and sends the information to the appropriate fire department if necessary.
