CASE STUDY
The ambulance service of the Western Cape
Department of Health is one of the largest
ambulance services in South Africa
Getting an ambulance and emergency medical services (EMS) professionals to the location and
patient as soon as possible could mean the difference between life and death
“The ambulance’s location is constantly
tracked and updated,” said Dr de Vries. “The
response team can follow the most efficient
route using a mobile tablet in the front of
the ambulance, while receiving updates or
sending other requests to the dispatcher.”
In the back of the ambulance, paramedics
use a device to electronically receive and
update clinical records about the patient’s
condition. “While this doesn’t affect
performance, it’s a critical function and will
impact the immediate care of the patient –
it also allows us to analyse the quality of the
care at a later stage,” said Dr de Vries.
From the time an incident is logged to the
moment the patient is handed over to staff
at a hospital or medical facility, the status
and progress of the incident are tracked and
captured for further analysis and insight.
Since the solution went live, Western Cape
EMS has reported significant improvements in
its services to the people of the Western Cape.
Accuracy and dispatch response times
have greatly improved; there have also
been reduced mobilisation times and
improvements in journey times. The network
has been implemented across the entire
province since.
“It’s important to understand that
this solution aims to address a need in
a developing country with incredibly
austere environments and socio-economic
challenges,” said Dr de Vries. “Both my team
and those within Dimension Data have
really owned the challenge. We’ve ended
up with a solution that’s far better than the
one we originally anticipated.”
For the non-emergency patient transport
services using HealthNET, Dimension Data
streamlined a booking system that simplified
communication and improved the service. While it’s difficult to predict the long-term
impact the solution will have on the way the
Department of Health operates, Dr de Vries
agrees that Western Cape EMS has more
detailed access to information.
“Patients can book transport when visiting a
facility and receive an SMS to confirm dates,
time of arrival and so forth,” said Dr de Vries. “In the future, we’ll look at every element of
emergency care and how technology can
make it more efficient and reliable,” he said.
“If the patient cannot make an
appointment, it just takes a simple SMS to
cancel the service.” “Additionally, with improved access to
business intelligence we’ll be able to respond
better to patients’ future needs.” n
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