Introducing the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS)

Medical Priority Dispatch System

Starting March 26, 2025, Haliburton County Paramedic Services and Ambulance Communications Officers in the Lindsay Centre Ambulance Communications Centre (CACC) will adopt the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS).

Watch this video from our local Paramedic Chiefs to learn more:

What does this mean for those who call 9-1-1?

• People should continue to call 9-1-1 for life-threatening medical emergencies, especially in cases such as cardiac or stroke symptoms, loss of consciousness, severe bleeding, or trauma.

• Callers should be prepared to provide detailed information to Ambulance Communications Officers regarding the patient's condition and location.

• Individuals who call 9-1-1 for non-life-threatening issues may experience longer wait times for service, depending on the patient's condition and the nature of the emergency. Ambulance Communications Officers will remain in contact to provide support and monitor the patient's status.

What is MPDS?

• MPDS is a medical triage system designed to prioritize the most urgent calls, ensure resources are allocated based on the clinical needs of each case, and enable paramedics to return to service as quickly as possible after each call.

• This evidence-based system incorporates testing, development, and quality assurance measures to maintain the highest standard of patient care and ensure paramedics are available for those in urgent need.

• It is the professional standard for patient triage for more than 35,000 ambulance communications centres in more than 46 countries, and will be used by all emergency medical services in Ontario. It is in place in Toronto, Niagara, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Renfrew, Peel, Halton, York, and more. Our emergency medical response system partners at Lanark County, Hastings-Quinte, Lennox & Addington, and Leeds and Grenville Paramedic Services switched to MPDS on February 5, 2025. Coordination among paramedic services and the Kingston Central Ambulance Communications Centre is a collaborative effort among all our organizations.

• It is part of the Government of Ontario's Your Health plan, which is designed to ensure that paramedics provide the right care at the right time, and to reduce non-urgent demand pressure on emergency departments.
  
  To learn more about MPDS visit the Haliburton County's MPDS: Frequently Asked Questions page.