HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority)

Pre-hospital Emergency Care Key Performance Indicators for Emergency Response Times

November 2010

RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Clinical Status 1 – ECHO: Patients with life-threatening cardiac or respiratory arrest incidents are responded to by a first responder, which includes advanced paramedics, paramedics or cardiac first responders in 7 minutes and 59 seconds or less in 75% of all cases.

B. Clinical Status 1 – DELTA: Patients with life-threatening conditions other than cardiac or respiratory arrest incidents are responded to by a first responder which includes advanced paramedics, paramedics or emergency first responders in 7 minutes and 59 seconds or less in 75% of all cases.

C. Clinical Status 1 – ECHO calls should have a patient-carrying vehicle at the scene of the incident within 18 minutes 59 seconds.

D. Clinical Status 1 – DELTA calls should have a patient-carrying vehicle at the scene of the incident within 18 minutes 59 seconds.

E. Clinical Status 2 – CHARLIE calls should have a patient-carrying vehicle at the scene of the incident within 18 minutes 59 seconds.

F. Clinical Status 2 – BRAVO calls should have a patient-carrying vehicle at the scene of the incident within 18 minutes 59 seconds.
 
 
A first responder is defined as a person who attends a potentially life-threatening emergency who:

• is suitably trained and holds a recognised qualification, as a minimum, in basic life support and the use of a defibrillator
• attends regular refresher courses
• is formally networked with a national ambulance control centre.

Full HIQA Report Here
 
 
(The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is an independent, government-funded agency.)