Why emergency calls work differently
On an emergency call, you usually do not know the patient or the destination when the phone is ringing. A 911 caller tells you a location and a problem — you need to get a unit moving, and that's about it. CAD has an emergency mode that gets out of your way.
Turning emergency mode on
Emergency mode turns on automatically when you pick an emergency service type. The emergency options are:
- Emergency Response (Primary Response Area)
- Emergency Response (Intercept)
- Emergency Response (Mutual Aid)
The moment you pick one of those as the service type, three things happen automatically:
- The patient section collapses to a note that says the crew will fill in the patient on the ePCR.
- The destination card collapses to a note that says the destination will be set on scene.
- A red emergency banner appears at the top of the form telling you all you need to fill in.
What you need to fill in
Just four things:
- Scene address
- Dispatch reason
- Level of care
- Mode to scene (emergent or non-emergent)
Click Create Incident. The incident hits your dispatch board immediately, ready to assign to a unit.
What happens while the crew is on the call
You do not have to come back to this incident later to fill in the patient or destination.
When the crew opens their report in CloudPCR and picks the patient, the CAD record updates automatically and the patient name appears on your dispatch board without you doing anything.
The destination fills in the same way. When the crew is ready to start transporting, their MDT asks them where they are taking the patient and gives them the same facility list you would have picked from. The moment they confirm, CAD updates the destination, progresses the unit to transporting, and the destination appears on your board in real time.
Tip: On a true emergency call, do not waste time trying to fill in the patient or destination yourself. The crew will do it. Your job is to get them moving.