Can ambulance dispatch categories discriminate traffic incidents that do/do not require a lights and sirens response?
International Journal of Emergency Services
ISSN: 2047-0894
Article publication date: 16 December 2021
Issue publication date: 9 August 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Traffic incidents vary considerably in their severity, and the dispatch categories assigned during emergency ambulance calls aim to identify those incidents in greatest need of a lights and sirens (L&S) response. The purpose of this study was to determine whether dispatch categories could discriminate between those traffic incidents that do/do not require an L&S response.
Design/methodology/approach
A retrospective cohort study of ambulance records was conducted. The predictor variable was the Traffic/Transportation dispatch categories assigned by call-takers. The outcome variable was whether each incident required an L&S response. Possible thresholds for identifying dispatch categories that require an L&S response were developed. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each threshold.
Findings
There were 17,099 patients in 13,325 traffic incidents dispatched as Traffic/Transportation over the study period. “Possible death at scene” ‘had the highest odds (OR 22.07, 95% CI 1.06–461.46) and “no injuries” the lowest odds (OR 0.28 95% CI 0.14–0.58) of requiring an L&S response compared to the referent group. The area under the ROC curve was 0.65, 95% CI [0.64, 0.67]. It was found that Traffic/Transportation dispatch categories allocated during emergency ambulance calls had limited ability to discriminate those incidents that do/do not require an L&S response to the scene of a crash.
Originality/value
This research makes a unique contribution, as it considers traffic incidents not as a single entity but rather as a number of dispatch categories which has practical implications for those emergency medical services dispatching ambulances to the scene.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge St John, Western Australia and Main Roads Western Australia, for the supply of data used in this study.
Funding: EC receives a Ph.D. scholarship funded through an Australian NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) Centre for Research Excellence grant (#1116453) - Prehospital Emergency Care Australia and New Zealand (PEC-ANZ).
Citation
Ceklic, E., Tohira, H., Finn, J., Brink, D., Bailey, P., Whiteside, A., Brown, E., Brits, R. and Ball, S. (2022), "Can ambulance dispatch categories discriminate traffic incidents that do/do not require a lights and sirens response?", International Journal of Emergency Services, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 222-234. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJES-05-2021-0026
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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