Responding to Pre-Hospital Events in BC: Time to Rethink the Current Model of Service Delivery

On October 29, 2013, the BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) implemented changes to their BC Ambulance Service Resource Allocation Plan (RAP) resulting in a significant number of codes being downgraded to Code 2 (routine) calls instead of their previous designation as Code 3 (lights and sirens) calls. According to BCEHS the process undertaken to make the changes involved a thorough review of over 630,000 patient calls with a focus on call outcomes to ensure that only those calls that warranted a downgrading to routine based on an outcome analysis were in fact downgraded. BCEHS has asserted that the changes were made to optimize the use of resources in a manner that prioritizes the allocation of services based on the most pressing medical needs.

 

 

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