Emergency Medical Services
Ambulance, Paramedics, Emergency Dispatch
Niagara Emergency Medical Services is made up of paramedics and emergency medical dispatchers who are committed to promoting the safety and well-being of all residents and visitors to Niagara.
There are 17 ambulances bases throughout the region and have 30 emergency service vehicles which are staffed by over 230 Advanced and Primary Care Paramedics. Our state of the art Communication Centre is staffed with over 25 System Status Controllers who handle all 911 emergency and scheduling of ambulance calls 24/7.
What are Emergency Services
The traditional roles of Emergency Medical Services focuses on paramedics providing emergency care to stabilize a patient's condition, rapid transport to hospital, as well as inter-facility transfers for both emergency and non-emergency situations.
The fundamental principles that all EMS service providers abide by revolve around an emergency medical services system that is:
- Accessible - All citizens should have equal access to ambulance services;
- Integrated - Ambulance services are an integrated part of the overall Emergency Health Care Services;
- Seamless - The closest available and appropriate ambulance will respond to a patient, regardless of political, administrative or other artificial boundaries;
- Accountable - Ambulance service operators are medically, operationally and financially accountable to provide service of the highest possible caliber; and,
- Responsive - Municipal ambulance services must remain responsive to the changing health care, demographic, socio-economic and medical needs in their area.
The primary customers of EMS are those with medical emergencies. Secondary customers include the families of the patients, and partners such as base and local hospitals, dispatch centres, long-term care facilities, and the Provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.