Priority Transport

[VentMedic]

I personally agree with the later in almost every situation. But I do want to point out the there will ALWAYS be the one in a million (ie. AAA) injury/illness that requires surgery an hour ago, which makes the speed a required thing.

Your speed is not going to make a surgeon hurry any faster. There is still alot of prep work at the hospital that will have to be done. This is where if any time at all can be saved. If the hospital knows your coming, they can start the preparations by gathering the team and technology. A good assessment and accurate report to the hospital will be of the most benefit. The 1 - 3 extra minutes traveling by L&S will not make that much difference. If the patient is that critical, there will probably be little inside the hospital that can be done to prevent the inevitable .

[iMac]

The ALS services have a much higher crash rate than the BLS. I don't think it's a matter of ALS - vs - BLS, I believe it's demographics.

We have always used the Alpha, Brave Charlie or Delta responses along with the subsequent letter and or additional lettering depending on the type of call. This system decides for you the level of response.

The one service I worked for allowed us to make the decision but because of demographics we made our decision based on the location of the call. We were a BLS service with the possibility of ALS intercept(in 40-60 mins depending on the weather and the location). We were a rural area so far out that on a good day we couldnt get a chopper to come out. The nearest trauma centre was 2 hours away. Needless to say, one of the main reasons why I left, just to much stress on my shoulders.

At the end of the day you have to make an educated decision as to how you are going to respond to the call. You are no good if you kill or injure yourself in the process.