• People should continue to call 9-1-1 for life-threatening medical emergencies, especially in cases such as cardiac or stroke symptoms, loss of consciousness, severe bleeding, or trauma.
• Callers should expect to answer detailed questions from Ambulance Communications Officers about each patient’s condition and location.
• Those who call 9-1-1 for non-life threatening matters should expect extended wait times for service depending on patient condition and the nature of the emergency. Ambulance Communications Officers will stay in contact to ensure callers are supported and to monitor each patient's condition.

• MPDS is a medical triage system that will help ensure that Paramedics attend the most urgent calls as immediately as possible, that resources are matched with the clinical circumstances of each case, and that paramedics return to service as quickly as possible after each call.
• It is an evidence-based system that includes built-in testing, development, and quality assurance measures to ensure patients continue to receive the highest standard of care and that Paramedics are available to those who need them most urgently.
• It is the professional standard for patient triage for more than 35,000 ambulance communications centres in more than 46 countries, and will be used by all emergency medical services in Ontario. It is in place in Toronto, Niagara, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Renfrew, Peel, Halton, York, and more. Our emergency medical response system partners at Lanark County, Frontenac County, Lennox & Addington, and Leeds & Grenville Paramedic Services switch to MPDS on February 5, too.
• It is part of the Government of Ontario's Your Health plan, which is designed to ensure that paramedics provide the right care at the right time, and to reduce non-urgent demand pressure on emergency departments.

• MPDS helps Physicians, Ambulance Communications Officers, and Paramedics ensure that each patient receives the right care at the right time depending on the nature of their medical emergency.
• It results in increased precision, accuracy, and efficiency in emergency medical response.
• It is the global state of the art and professional standard for emergency medical triage via 9-1-1.

Absolutely. 911 callers with lower-priority issues such as a broken bone with no bleeding, flu, badly sprained ankle, and other non-urgent problems will still get help, but it may take longer than usual for paramedics to arrive. We know those people may be frustrated with the wait, however, know that if you are waiting it is because Paramedics are assisting someone with a more urgent medical emergency in the community.

An Ambulance Communications Officer will call you regularly to see if your symptoms have changed while you’re waiting. If you’re worse, they will re-prioritize your call and send help. If something changes suddenly, immediately call 911 again.