Call Prioritization
Each dispatch determinant is made up of three pieces of information, which builds the determinant in a number-letter-number format. The first component, a number from 1 to 36, indicates a complaint or specific protocol from the MPDS: the selection of this card is based on the initial questions asked by the emergency dispatcher. The second component, a letter A through E (including the Greek character Ω), is the response determinant indicating the potential severity of injury or illness based on information provided by the caller and the recommended type of response. The third component, a number, is the sub-determinant and provides more specific information about the patient's specific condition. For instance, a suspected cardiac or respiratory arrest where the patient is not breathing is given the MPDS code 9-E-1, whereas a superficial animal bite has the code 3-A-3. The MPDS codes allow emergency medical service providers to determine the appropriate response mode (e.g. "routine" or "lights and sirens") and resources to be assigned to the event. Some protocols also utilise a single-letter suffix which may be added to the end of the code to provide additional information, e.g. the code 6-D-1 is a patient with breathing difficulties who is not alert, 6-D-1A is a patient with breathing difficulties who is not alert and also has asthma, and 6-D-1E is a patient with breathing difficulties who is not alert and has emphysema/COAD/COPD.Protocols
#Abdominal Pain/Problems #Allergies (Reactions) / Envenomations (Stings, Bites) #Animal Bites / Attacks #Assault / Sexual Assault / Stun Gun #Back Pain (Non-Traumatic / Non-Recent) #Breathing Problems #Burns (Scalds) / Explosions #Carbon Monoxide / Inhalation / HAZMAT / CBRN #Cardiac or Respiratory Arrest / Death #Chest Pain #Choking #Convulsions / Seizures #Diabetic Problems #Drowning / Diving / SCUBA Accident #Electrocution / Lightning #Eye Problems / Injuries #Falls #Headache #Heart Problems / A.I.C.D. #Heat / Cold Exposure #Hemorrhage / Lacerations #Inaccessible Incident / Entrapments #Overdose / Poisoning (Ingestion) #Pregnancy / Childbirth / Miscarriage #Psychiatric / Suicide Attempt #Sick Person #Stab / Gunshot / Penetrating Trauma #Stroke (CVA) / Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) #Traffic / Transportation Incidents #Traumatic Injuries #Unconscious / Fainting(Near) #Unknown Problem (Collapse 3rd Party) #Inter-Facility Transfer / Palliative Care #Automatic Crash Notification (A.C.N.) #HCP (Health-Care Practitioner) Referral (United Kingdom only) #Pandemic / Epidemic / Outbreak (Surveillance or Triage) #Inter-Facility Transfer specific to medically trained callersProtocol 36
This Protocol was created to handle the influx of emergency calls during the H1N1 pandemic: it directed that Standard EMS Resources be delayed until patients could be assessed by a Flu Response Unit (FRU), a single provider that could attend a patient and determine what additional resources were required for patient care to reduce the risk of pandemic exposure to EMS Personnel. In March 2020 the protocol was revised to assist with mitigating theResponse Determinant
Instructions to the caller
Responses in the United Kingdom
Whilst MPDS uses the determinants to provide a recommendation as to the type of response that may be appropriate, some countries use a different response approach. For example, in the United Kingdom, most, but not all front-line emergency ambulances have advanced life support trained crews, meaning that the ALS/BLS distinction becomes impossible to implement. Instead, each individual response code is assigned to one of several categories, as determined by the Government, with associated response targets for each.Response Determinant NHS England Clinical Response Model
Response Determinant NHS Wales Pilot Clinical Response Model
See also
* Emergency service response codes * Ten-codeReferences
* * * *{{cite web , title =New Pilot Response , publisher =Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust , url=http://www.ambulance.wales.nhs.uk/Default.aspx?pageid=307&lan=en , access-date = 2016-02-18 Emergency communication Emergency medicine Rating systems