Medical Communications Centre Recognized for Excellence
Nova Scotia's ambulance dispatch centre in Bedford is delivering first-class service to thousands of Nova Scotians, and has been recognized with an international accreditation for excellence.
"The combination of highly trained staff, advanced technology, and best practices is helping to save lives," said Jamie Muir, Minister of Health. "Essentially every Nova Scotian is a phone call away from medical advice that can save a life. The accreditation reflects a commitment to provide the best possible health care to Nova Scotians."
The Nova Scotia Emergency Health Services Medical Communications Centre is responsible for all ground and air ambulance transportation in the province and is staffed by specially trained emergency medical dispatch paramedics. They routinely talk callers through medical emergencies while an ambulance is en route, and have saved lives and prevented injuries by calmly offering emergency medical advice over the phone.
"This facility is the heart of our Emergency Health Services operations, and the recognition is further proof that we have the best system in Canada," said Mr. Muir. "I want to congratulate everyone involve for their work in achieving this milestone."
The International Academy Accreditation is earned after proving merit in a number of areas, including technology, training, quality improvement processes and public service.
"All of the staff worked very hard for this recognition," said Bob Brown, manager of the medical communications centre. "There have been so many improvements in service since 1997 and this accreditation as a centre of excellence is the icing on the cake. There were certainly a lot of smiles here when we received word that there was unanimous approval for accreditation."
The centre co-ordinates 95,000 requests for ground ambulance transport and more than 900 requests for air ambulance transport every year, serving the largest geographical area of any facility in the country. It is only the fifth centre in Canada to receive the accreditation.
The facility is managed for Emergency Health Services by Emergency Medical Care Inc., the private company that manages the ground ambulance system in Nova Scotia.
More information about the facility can be found under the Medical Communications section of the Emergency Health Services Web site, at www.gov.ns.ca/health/ehs .