Response Time Standards for Niagara Emergency Medical Services
Targets for emergency medical response times are legislated by the province and set annually by local municipalities.
Our targets are based on previous response times and are approved by Regional Council.
Response times are defined by the Canadian Triage Acuity Score (CTAS), a commonly-used system that prioritizes patient care based on severity, signs and symptoms.
Niagara EMS is mandated to submit a Response Time Performance Plan to the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care annually. The response plan is published and publically reported.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA): The time from our dispatch receiving the call to the arrival of any trained/qualified person to provide defibrillation. This is defined as an unexpected/immediate loss of heart function, breathing, and consciousness (this may include heart attacks)
CTAS 1 through 5: The time when our dispatch receives the call to the arrival of a Niagara EMS paramedic.
Paramedics Response Time Standard Results
Name |
2013 Response Time Standard Results |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Niagara Region |
Plan in Minutes |
Plan in Percentage |
Performance in Percentage |
SCA |
6 |
55% |
59.1% |
CTAS 1 |
8 |
80% |
77.7% |
CTAS 2 |
11 |
90% |
86.0% |
CTAS 3 |
15 |
90% |
93.0% |
CTAS 4 |
20 |
90% |
97.0% |
CTAS 5 |
30 |
90% |
99.8% |
Name |
2014 Response Time Standard Results |
||
Niagara Region |
Plan in Minutes |
Plan in Percentage |
Performance in Percentage |
SCA |
6 |
55% |
58.8% |
CTAS 1 |
8 |
80% |
72.0% |
CTAS 2 |
11 |
90% |
85.1% |
CTAS 3 |
15 |
90% |
91.3% |
CTAS 4 |
20 |
90% |
96.6% |
CTAS 5 |
30 |
90% |
99.7% |
Name |
2015 Response Time Standard Results |
||
Niagara Region |
Plan in Minutes |
Plan in Percentage |
Performance in Percentage |
SCA |
6 |
55% |
59.0% |
CTAS 1 |
8 |
80% |
76.1% |
CTAS 2 |
11 |
90% |
83.9% |
CTAS 3 |
15 |
90% |
89.9% |
CTAS 4 |
20 |
90% |
94.2% |
CTAS 5 |
30 |
90% |
99.4% |
Dispatch Response Time Standard Results
| Pt Contact CTAS | % of Target | % Compliance | Target Time | % of Target | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | ||||
| SCA | 90 | 95.93% | 93.16% | 93.16% | 91.20% | 2:00 | 90 |
| 1 | 90 | 90.76% | 89.51% | 89.51% | 90.53% | 2:00 | 90 |
| 2 | 75 | 85.86% | 83.40% | 83.40% | 81.01% | 2:00 | 75 |