Hamilton Spectator
2/14/2013
A new protocal is in place to try and help Hamilton's ambulance service deal with big increases in demand, such as dealing with a flu outbreak.
Hamilton Emergency Medical Services Director Brent Browett says they were getting up to 100 extra calls a day at the height of the influenza seson at the end of December.
He says the surge in calls meant the average time it took for a paramedic to arrive increased by up to one-and-a-half minutes and left the city with one or no ambulances available to respond to calls up to three times a day.
Browett says the new protocol should improve communications between dispatch, the EMS and hospitals.
He says that’s expected to improve co-ordination, particularly when services are stressed.
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