Ottawa paramedics launch new 9-1-1 ambulance dispatch system
Ottawa's ambulance dispatchers are using a new system for dispatching emergency medical responses on Wednesday, designed to more accurately triage calls and improve response times for life-threatening emergencies.
The Ottawa Central Ambulance Communications Centre launched the new 'Medical Priority Dispatch System' (MPDS) overnight, a medical call triage and decision support tool that "improves the assignment of paramedics," according to the city.
"This new decision support tool will assist our communication officers in assigning the paramedic resources to 9-1-1 calls," Ottawa Paramedic Service Chief Pierre Poirier said. "MPDS is very good at assessing the severity of patient illness or injury. Paramedics will be dispatched immediately for high-acuity patients experiencing life-threatening events such as a heart attack, unconsciousness, breathing problems and severe allergic reactions."
The 'Medical Priority Dispatch System' will rank calls within five levels of severity, allowing dispatchers to better determine what resources are needed and when. The emergent and immediate life-threatening calls will be classified as "code purple," while the least severe calls will be classified as "code green" for non-urgent, not serious and no immediate threat to life calls.
- Sign up now for our daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"Essentially, the old system only had two codes. This new system has five different color codes, and it is much better at determining life-threatening events and also determining what isn't a life-threatening event. So that we can better manage our resources to get to the patient in a timely manner," Poirier said.
"The highest priority call code is called purple, that's been determined by the province, that'll be a very small percentage of the calls we receive. So the purple calls may be somewhere between 2 and 5 per cent of all the calls that we do. Whereas the old system, our highest priority designation, 77 per cent of our calls were considered highest priority. So it really is a much more effective and efficient tool, whereas the old tool was a very blunt instrument."
Paramedics say when someone calls 9-1-1 to request emergency medical assistance, they will be asked more detailed questions designed to help dispatchers gather specific information about a patient's condition to make effective dispatch decisions.
"There is one thing that is very important is that for those individuals who are calling 9-1-1 to know, the call questioning will be different and not just that it will be different, that it just may be more specific, and there may be more questions. So please be patient with our ambulance communications officers because they are trying to get the best service to you as a patient in the most timely manner," said Poirier.
"MPDS can successfully identify patients in life-threatening situations, such as a cardiac arrest, unconsciousness or a stroke, who require an immediate response," the city said in a statement. "Patients who have a non-life-threatening presentation may receive a delayed response from paramedics. Delaying the response for some patients is safe and clinically appropriate."
A 9-1-1 operator at the dispatch centre in Ottawa, Ont. on April 10, 2024. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)
The old Dispatch Priority Card Index used by Ottawa paramedics only had two triage levels. A report says that 77 per cent of 9-1-1 calls placed to the Ottawa Central Ambulance Communications Centre in 2023 were triaged by the system as 'Code 4' response. However, after a paramedic assessment on the scene, only 12 per cent of those calls required emergency transport to hospital with lights and sirens, according to paramedics.
A coroner's inquest into the death of Ottawa resident Alice Martin in 2005 recommended that the Ministry of Health "immediately take steps" to implement the new 'Medical Priority Dispatch System' in Ottawa.
"The Ottawa Paramedic Service has been advocating with the province for the implementation of MPDS in Ottawa for more than 20 years," Poirier said. "We believe MPDS has a greater level of precision, accuracy and efficiency compared to the current system."
When it comes to "level zero" events in the city, Poirier says it can help, but isn't the entire solution.
"Indirectly, it will help with level zero because it'll give us the ability to better manage our paramedic resources that are out in the community so that they will be available for those highest priority calls. Will it solve the problem? Absolutely not. There's many factors that go into level zero, including the offload delay, our actual call volume, those kind of determinants."
But Poirier believes this can help deliver better care in our city.
"I absolutely believe that will improve the care to our community. And because we're better able to ascertain the medical presentation and whether or not something is life threatening- is really important to us."
The city of Toronto implemented the Medical Priority Dispatch System in 1992. The system was expanded to the Niagara Region in 2007. It was expanded to communication centres in Mississauga in 2022 and Kenora in 2023.
--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Leah Larocque.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.