Dynamic deployment models for high-performance Emergency Medical Services

Abstract

While the emergency medical services profession has evolved substantially, the way that paramedic resources respond to these incidents has stayed relatively the same, mostly mirroring deployment models utilized by fire departments. The problem is that fire and paramedic services require two very different types of staffing. Fire departments are mainly tasked with protecting property, and therefore follow a static 24/7 deployment model due to predictable demand (PRPS, 2020a). This is not the case however with paramedic services. While fire departments focus on property, paramedics requires a greater focus on protecting people and health. Over the past decade, there has been a staggering increase in medical calls, which has overwhelmed paramedic services across Canada. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the world saw ambulance call volumes and response times increase by up to 50% (Amiry & Maguire, 2021), especially for life-threatening emergencies (Prezant et al, 2020). It proves the importance of keeping staffing and deployment planning current to adequately deal with these surges. With regular instances of little to no ambulances available, even on regular days, there need to be improved methods identified for better resource management. For the purposes of this study, the deployment plans at two of Ontario’s largest and busiest paramedic services (referred to as Service A and Service B) were examined, to determine how different deployment models help paramedic services adapt to their call volume and remain prepared for larger-scale emergency responses.