Getting to the scene of an incident and transporting the most seriously injured patients to the trauma center that can treat them as quickly as possible is critical for those patients with major injuries. BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) is working to meet this need through the Autolaunch program, a layered response using BCAS ground paramedic units and dedicated BCAS aircraft for specific trauma responses.
The first of its kind in Canada, the program enables BCAS Emergency Medical Dispatchers to simultaneously send both an air ambulance aircraft and a ground ambulance vehicle to major incidents when time is a critical factor. This represents a significant change to the previous dispatch process for air ambulance support, which was based on waiting for an on-scene assessment of the patient by a ground ambulance crew, prior to the launch of an aircraft.
First put to the test during a pilot trial initiated by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) in July 2004, Autolaunch has been successfully operating in the VIHA, the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, Interior Health East Kootenay Service Area and the Northwest sector of the Northern Health Authority since December 1, 2006.
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