Guest guest Posted September 1, 2001 Report Share Posted September 1, 2001 >in Canada there is a CAD program called ARIS (Ambulance Response Information System) part of the information required to dispatch is a series of questions and instructions prompted by the CAD program for each medical emergency. < I know there are CAD programs in use such as this, although I haven't seen one. They may certainly be part of the answer. However you still run into the problems of " one person " and many of these smaller centers do not have any CAD whatsoever. It will work itself out in time, but that may still be a long way down the road... and until then, there are big problems with EMD in your small centers. It eventually comes down to $$$$... when the government agencies and powers that be decide it's important enough to pay for... maybe our centers will have the personnel, training, staffing and equipment they need. Weintraut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2001 Report Share Posted September 1, 2001 Here is a thought.... Have the dispatchers in smaller agencies who do not think they can provide pre-arrival thought about transferring the caller to another outside agency who maybe able to handle the call? Both parties can get their jobs done and still provide pre-arrival. > >in Canada there is a CAD >program called ARIS (Ambulance Response Information >System) part of the information required to dispatch >is a series of questions and instructions prompted by >the CAD program for each medical emergency. < > >I know there are CAD programs in use such as this, although >I haven't seen one. > >They may certainly be part of the answer. > >However you still run into the problems of " one person " and many >of these smaller centers do not have any CAD whatsoever. > >It will work itself out in time, but that may still be a long way down >the road... and until then, there are big problems with EMD in >your small centers. > >It eventually comes down to $$$$... when the government agencies >and powers that be decide it's important enough to pay for... maybe >our centers will have the personnel, training, staffing and equipment >they need. > >Weintraut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2001 Report Share Posted September 2, 2001 > Based on call volume of EMD calls, most small agencies would view > consolidation as killing an ant with a gold plated sledge hammer. > Roy - I think you may have missed my point. I didn't suggest consolidation as a solution solely for EMD, because I think that EMD is just a symptom of a larger problem - single seat centers and understaffing in general that prohibit smaller facilities from effectively handling multiple simultaneous events - regardless of the nature. For those out there who work the smaller PSAP's, please don't take offense. This isn't a personal issue. I know how hard you work, and am not suggesting that consolidation cures all ills. It doesn't. Any center - regardless of size - can become overwhelmed by calls - be short staffed - or both. However, with the tremendous potential for a continued spiral of incoming calls due to wireless devices and telematics, I am very much concerned that many one and two seat centers will habitually faced with scenarios where they will be hard pressed to handle the volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2001 Report Share Posted September 2, 2001 The thought of transferring a call for EMD is good in theory. I work for a " one " person at a time agencies and we have only 4 911 trunk lines. When we light up (shots fired, car accident) our overflow goes to our county agency. Then what I get is a phone call on a non emergency line asking " what are you doing? " I feel like telling them, picking my nose, but you know how that goes. Our county agency would rather die then answer anything for us. We even looked in to consolidating with them. Of course they didn't like that either, they didn't want our workload, entering LEADS/NCIC entries, taking walk-in's, writing stolen bicycle reports, entering IVC tickets. During the consolidation talk several people sat along with us at different times of the day and they were amazed. At the county agency there are call takers and dispatchers, you don't do both. We are expected to do it all, even when our " traffic boy " feels like stopping everything in town that's moving. I am not against the idea of EMD, I'm actually all for it, but there is only so many things one person can get done. That's where the liability issue comes in. Terri _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2001 Report Share Posted September 2, 2001 I guess my I should ask this... Just what type of EMS agencies does everyone dispatch for? I wonder if your EMS agencies have thought about taking over dispatching and taking medical calls transferred to them from 911 centers. If the small or one-person agencies have a problem with providing EMD (for whatever various reasons, no offense either) then has anyone thought of making their EMS agencies take this task over? I know every area is different, but there has to be solutions, good place to start would be here. >The thought of transferring a call for EMD is good in theory. I work for a > " one " person at a time agencies and we have only 4 911 trunk lines. When we >light up (shots fired, car accident) our overflow goes to our county agency. > Then what I get is a phone call on a non emergency line asking " what are >you doing? " I feel like telling them, picking my nose, but you know how >that goes. Our county agency would rather die then answer anything for us. >We even looked in to consolidating with them. Of course they didn't like >that either, they didn't want our workload, entering LEADS/NCIC entries, >taking walk-in's, writing stolen bicycle reports, entering IVC tickets. >During the consolidation talk several people sat along with us at different >times of the day and they were amazed. At the county agency there are call >takers and dispatchers, you don't do both. We are expected to do it all, >even when our " traffic boy " feels like stopping everything in town that's >moving. I am not against the idea of EMD, I'm actually all for it, but >there is only so many things one person can get done. That's where the >liability issue comes in. > >Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2001 Report Share Posted September 2, 2001 I find it in my area that other agencies are willing to help if needed. Of course my agency works closely with around 5 different 911 centers. >Nice idea but, you either have a political problem doing this or the 911 >system has limitations which make it unable to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2001 Report Share Posted September 2, 2001 A lot of larger EMS agencies do their own dispatch. Its more efficient for an EMS agency to take care of their ambulances. These are the ones that have pre-schedule transfers, wheelchair vans and so forth. Has everyone heard of AMR or Rural Metro? These are some large EMS agencies... they provide their own dispatch. I know AMR of Michigan (East side) can have at least 30 ambulances on the road at one time. (And this is a low number). Now can you imagine some of your centers taking care of all these ambulances at once? And you were worried about EMD? Worry about Police, Fire, EMD, and 30-60 ambulances all at once. >Maybe I'm confused but if the paramedics are doing our job by >answering the phones, then aren't they delaying their response time? > >Jim J >Mr 911 >TriCom > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2001 Report Share Posted September 2, 2001 I have know quite a few agencies around Michigan that also do this and it does seem to work. What better agency to handle EMD calls then an EMS agency. I am sure there are some agencies that this does not work well for, but at some point instead of people calling EMD useless and obsessing about one person centers they should be coming up with solutions for their areas. If things are not currently working then that means its best to change. AND yes I know there is tons of red tape out there (I have some that I have to go through), but if you are serious about things not working correctly- you will find a way to change and correct things. >We do not dispatch EMS in Rutherford County. There are four PSAPs in >the county; >the SO, Murfreesboro PD, Smyrna PD and LaVergne PD. There is one >secondary, the >Rutherford County Ambulance Service. All 9-1-1 calls route to one of >the PSAPs. >If the call is for EMS response, it is transferred to the Ambulance >Service and >the Ambulance Service dispatch then provides EMD. So far, this seems to work >well....none of the PSAPs are tied down with EMD, and the Ambulance Service >dispatchers do an excellent job of EMD and tracking their EMTs on >calls. For my >agency, this is a God send as we usually run 1 to a shift and we do everything >like most small agencies. > >Freida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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