BCEHS along with Unity Toronto receives the Solventum Health Care Team Award in Halifax for their efforts in reshaping out-of-hospital care. Photo credit: Supplied
Monday, Jul. 8th, 2024
BC Emergency Health Services says they’re just one of two organizations that has been recognized nationally to re-shape out of hospital care for non-emergency 911 calls.
BCEHS says they established the Clinical Hub in 2022 to provide an alternate assessment, conveyance and care initiatives for patients with less-urgent medical conditions who might not need medical transportation to a nearby hospital.
According to BCEHS, the Clinical Hub service allows paramedics to filter the calls and provide care based-off the patient’s condition which would allow them to focus resources where they need it.
“Providing the right care the first time a patient contacts 9-1-1 ensures that paramedics and ambulances are available for the most critically ill and injured patients,” they say in a media release. “Primary care paramedics trained as secondary triage clinicians assess these low acuity patients and connect them to alternative care options.
Clinical director Ford Smith says using this resource has allowed BCEHS to gather more information for patients’ needs and tailor a medical plan to meet those needs but also take some of the burden off a strained healthcare system.
“Almost half the patients that call 9-1-1 every year don’t need a lights and siren emergency,” he says. “We would do a more in-depth assessment at the hub with the patient and their history, and then work with our health authority partners to connect them into a more appropriate care path.”
He says some of those other care services they’ve connected patients with are mental health supports, palliative care as well as Urgent and Primary Care Centres.
Smith says the program recognizes access to the right care is paramount in recovery and taking a bit more time in the beginning could save a vast amount of time in the end.
“When we take a little more time in the upstream of that patient’s care and understand their care needs we can save them a lot of time in an emergency room,” he says. “When we have time on our side to do low acuity ‘less urgent’ patient, we take that time to do a more thorough assessment.”
