Help; I need an Ambulance

Text and photo by Gary Murphy PCP, EMD-Q

Most people only dial 911 once or twice in their lives. Each time they have information they want to give to 911 and there is information 911 is required to get from the caller. The people that quite often could be our greatest help sometimes cannot provide us with information that we need. They are the ever-present cell phone users.

Here in Canada emergency operators at Public Service Answering Points (911 PSAPs) process a large number of cell callers reporting motor vehicle collisions and we need you to help us, help the victims. The most important thing that can be done when reporting a car crash is to STOP. When you make the call you will be routed to the nearest 911 PSAP, this is the 911 system. They will answer “911 what is your emergency”. The 911 emergency operators will verify your phone number and the location of the incident. They will ascertain if it is a fire, police or medical emergency.  Once this is done, and if it is a medical incident (motor vehicle collision), the 911 operators will transfer you to the specialists that deal with medical emergencies. This is where I work.  Many centers in Canada are members of International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) an organization that had its start in an organization by Dr. Jeff Clawson in Utah in the late 1970s.  IAEDs mission is  "To advance and support the public-safety emergency telecommunications professional and ensure that citizens in need of emergency, health and social services are matched safely, quickly and effectively with the most appropriate resource."  

In Nova Scotia you will be transferred to an Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE), which has been accredited since 2002 as having the highest standards in its field. In Nova Scotia a Paramedic Communications Officer will answer your call, these are people who have or still work on ambulances as Paramedics and have taken a specialty course to make them an Emergency Medical Dispatcher. We are an Accredited Center of Excellence; there are only 6 others in Canada and only 107 in the whole world.

Once the call is transferred to us we will revivify the location of the incident, and your cell phone number. The location is extremely important; we need identifiers, civic location if on a side road or a highway number, mile marker, exit number, inbound / outbound and approximate distance to closest town if you are on a highway. Once we are sure where the ambulance is needed we will start on the medical questions. Not to worry though, as we have started an ambulance traveling towards your location when we answered the phone. The ambulance was given regular location updates as provided by you.

Many people do not wish to get involved in helping as they fear their inability to stomach what they might see or they fear they do not have the medical knowledge to assist the injured.  The call-taker does not need you to get involved if you do not wish to. You can provide all the information needed from the safety of your car. The questions you will be asked include; are the people trapped? Are there any hazardous materials (look for a placard, or is it a gasoline tanker, etc)? Was anyone thrown from the vehicle? And then, if you were willing to go to the victims, further questions would be: Are they alert? Are they breathing normally and then what kind of injuries do they have? For the last question you need no medical knowledge, you can say s/he has neck pain, pain in upper leg, etc. These questions ensure that the correct equipment is responding such as Fire / Rescue, Police, the correct number of ambulances or even an air-medivac helicopter if the incident is serious enough.

From the above you can see why it is important to stop. Twenty minutes after passing the crash you may not be able to tell us that there are three patients and therefore we may not be sending