Well Done to the Scottish Ambulance Service.
It was announced today (although I couldn't find a news story on it) that we hit our response time target for last year. We have a a target of 75% for the whole of Scotland and we managed an impressive 77%! Get Us!
I take the same views on the clinical relevance of ORCON targets as Tom Reynolds over on Random Reality (Relevant post are here and here if you are a regular reader of his you'll know the score!).
The clinical significance of the 8 minute target is negligible and based on out dated information for the demand and usage of the ambulance service which we are now seeing throughout the country.
In Scotland we have a different problem.
I have it on the grapevine that the response percentage for my particular area is actually at 97%. I have a feeling that Edinburgh may also have a similar response result. We are heavily populated and built up areas with many stations in a relatively small area. We tend to answer more calls than some of the other divisions however 70% (best guess) of the calls we attend are within a 10 mile radius.
Unfortunately Scotland is a rather big country with big mountains, islands, single roads and has ambulance stations based in strategic positions to facilitate as quick a response as possible.
However strategic you are, and in the vast areas we work in, we are not by any stretch of the imagination (or heaviness of the right foot) going to reach a AS1 call 50 miles away in 8 minutes. Which is what a lot of the out lying stations are up against.
Hence a 97% response time in one area being pulled down to a 77% total overall.
As readers of Random Reality will know, ORCON is not based on any patient outcome or level of care indicators but simply time. It doesn't seem to matter if the patient dies or we are delayed on scene by other factors (e.g. waiting for police assistance, extra crew for a heavy lift) meaning the patients definitive care is delayed. As long as we are at the address within 8 minutes the job is successful.
Tom Reynolds writes much better posts about ORCON and its significance then I can, so if your interested please have a look at his blog..................... not only that, its a bloody good blog!
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On a seperate note condolences and thoughts go out the families of the men involved in the recent helicopter crash off the coast of Aberdeen.
Hopefully they can recover the wreckage to discover what has caused the two recent incidents to put a stop to it and bring balance back to the off shore industry which is so vital in North East Scotland.
Your Chariot Awaits!
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10 comments:
In parts of our area if you need to come to 'big hospital' then it can take over 1 hour before you reach us. Thats always assuming that the local ambulance is not doing something else.
I once followed a blue light ambulance along the motorway as I was going home one night and thought it was a transfer as it was over 20 miles between hospitals but no it bypassed the hospital and kept going for at least another 7 miles before I lost sight of it. Approximatley 30 miles for a 999 call? ORCON out the window.
I'm quite into "Science" myself, and always try to watch the TV show "Air Crash Investigation" on Sky, as I find how they unravel these sorts of accident "mysteries" fascinating.
One I saw last week was eventually traced back to a repair done 22 years(!) previously, as the cause of the crash.
Hopefully, when we have such dedicated and expert people looking into the crash, they'll eventually get to the cause, and take steps to prevent it again.
I was sent on a Red call last night....42 miles from our station. I'm not sure, but I dont think we made ORCON!
AS1? What does it mean/stand for. We use it in Ireland but no one seems to know where it originated. AS1 = 999 AS2 = GP AS3 = Transfer.
Any thoughts
Very impressive - our response times in my dump of a borough in London are appalling. Too many calls to handle, so every one becomes later and later.
It's not uncommon to come on shift at 0600hours and have I grade calls (top level immediate response calls) outstanding from 0200hours that the night shift haven't had time to get round to.
Numerous times we've had twenty I calls outstanding just on my little division, and there's little we can do, as there's all the lower level calls as well. Our 'OI' list (Outstanding Incident List) on our CAD terminals is managed as best as possible, but there's usually during the day about sixty or so outstanding at any time.
The LAS don't have it quite as bad, but when they do we definitely notice - sometimes we get the CAD sent back to us stating something along the lines of "Over 100 calls outstanding for your area alone, can your officers transport patient?"
Which we're NOT allowed to do.
But often do it anyway.
So good on you for getting up and taking those constant calls and meeting your targets. I know that our targets are low, and we still fail to acheive them on a regular basis!
I never have or will like ORCON. I agree we need measured in someway but it should be paitent care not arrival time.
I notice all the extra motors we had in Mad March have suddenly vanished!!!!
J..........
I have no idea what the AS part stands for but it sounds like we're on the same system.
If you find out let me know!!
I always assumed that AS stood for Ambulance Service, but I've never heard that for definite.
Anon................
Well that makes sense!!! Which leads me to think it might not be.......... a lot of the stuff the ambulance service does is completely illogical & senseless so if they have finally started making sense it'll be a surprise!
Just had a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Medical_Priority_Dispatch_System and that defines what the "A" and the "1" would be, but although it lists all the sub-categories that the "S" would fall into, it doesn't actually tell you what an "S", would be for example...
Think we need the "United Kingdom Department of Health - AMPDS Call Categorisation Version 11" for that, but I can't seem to find a .pdf of it on the web.
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