The way 911 calls are handled in our region is set to change early next month.
As of Wednesday, Feb. 5, paramedic services across the area will be implementing a new 9-1-1 system with people calling for a medical emergency being asked new, detailed questions about each patient’s condition.
Paramedics will respond to urgent and life-threatening cases as quickly as possible but officials say those who call for less-urgent, non-life-threatening matters should expect longer wait times under the new system.
Callers for less-urgent cases will be supported through regular contact with ambulance communications officers who will monitor the patient’s condition.
Chief of the Paramedic Services at United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Jeff Carrs, tells the Moose FM Newsroom that the new system will be invaluable.
“It’s going to allow the services to respond to calls more effectively and to assign the proper crews to the proper calls at the right time.”
The new system, called the Medical Priority Dispatch System, is in use in more than 35,000 ambulance communications centres in at least 46 countries.
