Whitchurch-Stouffville Newspaper Index

Stouffville Sun-Tribune (Stouffville, ON), 13 Nov 2010, p. 10

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Register with LeaseBustors.c01n 0r FinanceBustorsmorn Today and SAVE! _ 1'333'357'2573 EASE _ [INANCE a USTERSL OM BUSTER$.COM LeaseBusters.com and FinanceBusters.com Whether you’re looking to get out of your current vehicle or find another one, leased or financed, we can help! is all About Saving you Money. Get Out or Take Over :1 Finance Contract Today and... 0 .‘ m... «W, ,...â€"..-â€".'.L~.â€".........V.... - Benefit‘ Qwauo'ldnm Today and... 0 Save onAearly fees Get Out of Your Lease Savetimeandgetautof yourlelleno'w v 7 e Avoid PDI taxes The bottom line is this is an important part of the EMS system we cannot move forward with, or control as quickly as we'd like, com- munity and health services commissioner Adelina Urbansld said. The current system lacks integration with systems that would ensure greater accuracy, reduce call taking and dispatching time and efiort, and improve safety, effectiveness and eficiency, the report states. The final report makes five key recommen- dations, most notably that the five munici- palities convince the province to allow them to operate a single GTA dispatch centre. It also calls on the province to step back and provide funding only. The consultant’s report highlighted a series of problems with the current system, includ- ing ambulances not being properly priori- tized due to red tape and outdated systems and taxpayers paying more than they should. While the region is responsible for running its Emergencyy Medical Services department, when you call 911 and request an ambulance, it is dispatched from a call centre in Barrie. York Region joined Peel, Durham, Halton and Simcoe County and commissioned con- sultants POMAX Public Safety to review how EMS dispatch works. BY DAVID FLEISCHER dfleischer@yrmg. com York Region is trying to convince the prov- ince paramedics should be able to get to you faster and cost less to do so. Sharing paramedic dispatch could save $350,000 a year A convoluted system makes it difficult to The authors reviewed several models and concluded a single facility, shared by the five municipalities, would be best. It would cost $114 million to operate for 10 years. On the other hand, co-ordinating local services would cost more than twice as much. Ambulance dispatch is handled primarâ€" ily by 16 provincially run central ambulance communication centres (CACC). Toronto, Ottawa, Timmins and Niagara operate their own local ambulance commu- nication services (ACS) in Ontario. But, people are not being endangered, Ms Ufbanski said, noting residents seem relucâ€" tant to call 911, but shouldn’t hesitate in an emergency. Implementing best practices used in other areas would reduce the number of high-pri- oritycalls by 10 per cent and perhaps twice as much, the report found. ’ The report validated a shared belief things could be done better, Ms Urbanski said. assess how frequently response times fail to meet legislated standards. The system through which calls are priori- tized is inefiicient, meaning ambulances may rush to lower-priority calls that could wait, the report states. That could translate into a savings of near- ly $350,000 in York Region. ‘ PROVINCIAL APPROVAL NEEDED In total, the efliciencies suggested would save $3.3 million for the five municipalities if the province allows them go through â€"Withfilafi'om IbrstarNews Service

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