Greg MacKinnon, supervisor of Emergency Health Services, demonstrates use of a laptop-like device that provides instant navigational information to paramedics as they travel to emergencies. Jeanne Whitehead photo.
New technology for ambulances
Nova Scotia deploys onBoardTM Mobile Gateways in all emergency vehicles.
Nova Scotia ambulances are now equipped with a sophisticated navigation system that should mean faster faster response times, according to Greg MacKinnon, Digby’s supervisor of Emergency Health Services.
“Getting to a patient quicker can make a critical difference,” he said.
With the onBoardTM Mobile Gateway system, a modem is physically installed in each of the province’s emergency vehicles. The modem is always ‘on’, and a laptop-like device known as a ‘tablet’ provides navigational information to paramedics.
The system also sends data to dispatchers and supervisors in real time.
“It used to be that we would know ambulances were en route from one point to another, but we didn’t know the exact location at any given time, unless we radioed them. Obviously, immediately knowing where each of our vehicles is in real time means we can dispatch the one that will reach the emergency site in the least amount of time,” says MacKinnon.
McKinnon said local ambulances can also electronically transmit patient care reports and tests such as EKGs, making it possible for emergency department staff to be fully ready for the arrival of patients in critical condition.
The new equipment, purchased for every ambulance in the province by the Nova Scotia government, is a product of a Vancouver-based company, In Motion Technology.
