§ 3-2F-7 Response Time Performance

3-2F-7: RESPONSE TIME PERFORMANCE:

A. Ambulance Services Provider Responsibilities: Ambulance services providers shall be responsible to meet or exceed the response time standards set forth below. The city, however, in its sole discretion, retains the right to vary the standards when circumstances arise that may cause the ambulance services provider to be unable to meet the standards. An ambulance services provider shall use its best effort to minimize variations or fluctuations in response time performances according to time of day, day of the week, or week of the month.

1. Compliance is achieved when ninety percent (90%) or more of calls for each priority in the city meets the specified response time criteria during the calendar month. For example, to be in compliance, an ambulance services provider would place an ambulance on the scene of each life threatening emergency call within eight (8) minutes not less than ninety percent (90%) of the time for all priority 1 calls for service within the city in any calendar month.

2. Ambulance services providers are required to meet the response times in the table below for each zone of the city. Zones shall be designated and agreed upon between the ambulance services providers and dispatch. Ambulance services providers will take precautions to assure that no zone is underserved.

3. Maximum Response Times:

Priority Code	Response Time	Dispatch Code
1	8 min	Echo Delta Charlie
2	12 min	Bravo Alpha

Priority Code

Response Time

Dispatch Code

8 min

Echo

Delta

Charlie

12 min

Bravo

Alpha

For purposes of determining compliance with the listed response times, the call is not considered late until sixty (60) seconds has elapsed beyond the listed response time. In other words, all maximum response times listed in the table above and referenced throughout this article include an additional fifty nine (59) seconds of time before the call is deemed late. 0:00 indicates “on time” performance with scheduled on scene time. Consideration will be given for charlie codes that fit into another category.

Response Priority Code	Response Time Definition	EMD Response Level	Minimum Time Compliance Standard	Time Compliance Combination
1	Life threatening prehospital emergencies – All prehospital life threatening emergency requests, as determined by the dispatcher in strict accordance with city authorized EMD protocol.	– All echo calls – All delta calls – All charlie calls	Not less than 90 percent per month by EOA	Priority 1
2	Time sensitive prehospital emergencies – All prehospital nonlife threatening emergency requests, including emergency standby requests, as determined by the dispatcher in strict accordance with city authorized EMD protocol.	– All bravo and alpha calls where hot response is authorized	Not less than 90 percent per month by EOA	Priority 2

Response Priority Code

Response Time Definition

EMD Response Level

Minimum Time Compliance Standard

Time Compliance Combination

Life threatening prehospital emergencies

– All prehospital life threatening emergency requests, as determined by the dispatcher in strict accordance with city authorized EMD protocol.

– All echo calls

– All delta calls

– All charlie calls

Not less than 90 percent per month by EOA

Priority 1

Time sensitive prehospital emergencies

– All prehospital nonlife threatening emergency requests, including emergency standby requests, as determined by the dispatcher in strict accordance with city authorized EMD protocol.

– All bravo and alpha calls where hot response is authorized

Not less than 90 percent per month by EOA

Priority 2

1. Response time for priority 1 and 2 calls will be calculated from dispatch time to arrive at scene time or cancellation time of the first transport capable ambulance. Authorized first responders may make cancellations in compliance with city dispatch requirements.

2. “Arrived at scene” means the time the assigned ambulance arrives at the requested call location or scene, wheels stopped, and dispatch is notified. In situations where the ambulance has responded to a location other than the scene (e.g., staging areas for hazardous scenes), arrived at scene shall be the time the ambulance arrives at the designated staging location, wheels stopped and dispatch is notified. For priority 1 or 2 responses, the response time standard to staging area shall not be relaxed unless the public safety agency has instructed the ambulance services provider to stage for law enforcement or fire, in order to ensure the scene is safe. If staging for such a purpose, the required response time shall be the same as a priority 2 response. The response mode shall be in accordance with dispatch policies and procedures.

3. Arrived at scene time is to be reported to dispatch by a manual action of the ambulance crew. This requirement is typically satisfied by voice radio transmission or the use of a manually activated digital status reporting device. Arrival times automatically captured solely by automated vehicle locater AVL/GPS positioning reporting shall not be used.

4. For incidents requiring more than one ambulance, the first ambulance to arrive at the scene of an incident shall be used for calculation of response time standards. Ambulance services providers shall use their best efforts to place additional ambulances on scene expeditiously.

1. Ambulance services providers shall use their best efforts to maintain mechanisms for reserve service capacity and to increase response service capability should temporary system overload persist. However, it is understood that from time to time unusual factors beyond the ambulance services provider’s reasonable control affect the achievement of the specified response time standards. These unusual factors include, but are not limited to, local emergencies, declared disasters, declared disasters in another county or state where ambulance services provider’s ambulances are sent for mutual aid, severe weather, or periods of unusually high demand for ambulance services. Authorized categories for minimum response time standards exceptions are as follows:

a. A local declared disaster involving mass casualties;

b. If it can be demonstrated that providing emergency mutual aid into another ambulance services provider’s operating area caused a shortage of resources that is directly attributable for a late response within the city;

c. During certain weather or roadway conditions that prohibit safe ambulance operation to meet response time standards or the specified call location is inaccessible by conventional ground ambulances;

d. During a period of unusually high demand. To request an exemption for a period of unusually high demand, ambulance services providers must demonstrate that, at the moment the call was received, the number of emergency calls dispatched and being worked simultaneously caused an unexpected shortage of resources that was directly attributable to the late response within the city;

e. Any delay caused by dispatch error.

Any response time exceptions granted by the city shall be in the sole discretion of the city.

2. Equipment failures, traffic congestion, ambulance failures, inability to staff units, and other similar causes will not be grounds for granting an exception to compliance with the response standards.

3. If an ambulance services provider believes that any response or group of responses should be excluded from the calculation of the response time standards, the ambulance services provider may request a review by the city. With its request, the ambulance services provider shall submit a detailed statement explaining why the response time should be excluded and all other available documentation that supports the request. The exclusion request must be made in writing. The city will review the request and issue a final determination.

1. All ambulance responses over each calendar month will be separated by priority code, and then analyzed for compliance with the minimum ninety percent (90%) standard. The number of calls within standard for a specific priority code and response time zone shall be divided by the total number of calls for that priority code and response time zone to determine the aggregate percentage compliance within each zone. Monthly response times may be reported with decimals, but no rounding factor will be used in determining compliance.

2. Aggregate monthly response time performance will be applied to each priority code. Any priority code resulting in less than the ninety percent (90%) response time performance is noncompliant with the response time. The city shall endeavor to respond to requests from an ambulance services provider for information regarding response times as soon as is practical, but in no case shall it be more than ten (10) business days after the request is made. (Ord. 2014-11-003, 11-13-2014)