Overview

The response time information on this site is a representation of the variety of performance measures the ministry is monitoring and reporting to the public to increase transparency and accountability on ambulance system effectiveness. The ministry uses indicators which measure, track and monitor the overall system performance – ensuring the most appropriate patient care is available, enhancing ministry oversight and driving system performance.

The key performance indicators (KPIs) for land ambulance performance measurements that are available to the public include:

  • response time measures
  • patient outcome indicators

In addition to legislated response time reports, public reporting of response time performance also includes population and geographic data for ambulance services and call volume information for dispatch services, as they relate to response times. These influencing factors help to explain the uniqueness of each municipality and dispatch centre when considering their response times.

The public reporting of patient outcomes includes the mortality rates of stroke and ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) ambulance patients for each municipality, reported in a consistent and comparable format.

Response time measures

All Upper Tier Municipalities (UTMs), Designated Delivery Agent (DDA) and First Nations (FN) under the Ambulance Act, Regulation 257/00 are responsible for the establishment, monitoring and reporting of response time plans and performance achieved by land ambulance service operators for patients categorized as CTAS 1 to 5 and Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) patients. The following response time reports are submitted to the ministry on an annual basis:

  • SCA patients, in need of a defibrillator, within six minutes
  • CTAS 1 patients within eight minutes
  • CTAS 2 to 5 patients within the response times set by the UTM/DDA/FN

Dispatch centres under the Ambulance Act, Regulation 257/00 are responsible for reporting response time plans and performance achieved regarding the percentage of times it dispatches an ambulance within two minutes for SCA patients and other patients categorized as CTAS 1 on an annual basis, including:

  • SCA patients, in need of a defibrillator, within two minutes
  • CTAS 1 patients within two minutes

The legislative response time standard submission timeline requirements are established by Regulation 257/00 Part VIII under the Ambulance Act.

Additional KPIs

To improve ministry oversight and system performance, these additional KPIs are collected and publicly reported.

Response time indicators

  • Population and land area:  Data grouped by UTM/DDA/FN to provide context to response time information.
  • Land ambulance response time: Average travel time to the patient for highest priority calls.
  • Dispatch call volume:  All public requests for 9-1-1 service.
  • Dispatch response time:  Average time from 9-1-1 call receipt to dispatching an ambulance for highest priority calls.

Patient outcome indicators

  • Stroke patients (new page to be created: Mortality Rates for STEMI and Stroke):  Ambulance stroke patient mortality rate for patients transported to an emergency department.
  • STEMI patients (new page to be created: Mortality Rates for STEMI and Stroke):  Ambulance STEMI patient mortality rate for patients transported to an emergency department.

Definitions of Canadian Triage Acuity Scale (CTAS)

The response time targets and performance for patients are categorized under the Canadian Triage Acuity Scale ("CTAS") 1,2,3,4 and 5 as described below.

Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) is a five-level triage scale with the highest severity level 1 (resuscitation) and the lowest severity levels 5 (non-urgent) used to assign a level of acuity to patients and more accurately define the patient’s need for care primarily based on the optimal time to medical intervention.

The 5 levels of the CTAS

CTAS Level 1: CTAS level assigned for resuscitation.
CTAS Level 2: CTAS level assigned for emergent.
CTAS Level 3: CTAS level assigned for urgent.
CTAS Level 4: CTAS level assigned for less urgent.
CTAS Level 5: CTAS level assigned for non-urgent.