SCDF considering having ambulances constantly on patrol

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http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/scdf-tap-big-data-slash-response-times?singlepage=true

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To further cut response times, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is looking at tapping big data to predict demand and better deploy emergency resources such as ambulances and fire engines.

The SCDF is also considering having ambulances constantly on patrol, on top of deploying them at its 47 facilities islandwide and other fixed external locations such as hospitals, polyclinics and neighbourhood police posts.

Such an allocation system does not address the huge variation in demand for emergency medical services from various areas between different hours of a day and different days of the week.

For example, a large number of people are in the Central Business District in the day, but the area becomes a ghost town at night and on weekends. In contrast, population densities in residential estates spike after office hours.

The proposed “live deployment model” is based on the premise that demand for emergency resources varies according to geographical factors as well as temporal factors. The model should also be able to distinguish between urgent cases and less serious ones.

While the SCDF plans to increase its ambulance fleet, the proposed model will “partially ameliorate” Singapore’s growing demand for emergency medical services due to its ageing population, the document added.

Paramedics and firefighters here whom TODAY spoke to noted that a prediction model has its practical challenges. They declined to be named because they were not authorised by their employers to speak to the media.

A firefighter who has been in service for almost seven years said: “If the emergency vehicles and crew are moved around while (the size of) the total fleet remains unchanged, there are bound to be gaps in some areas. Also, the time spent attending to one case is different from another, so the relocation may not be very smooth.”

He felt it might not be feasible to constantly have some emergency vehicles on patrol, given the high volume of calls that the SCDF already has to attend to. “People may also get tired from being constantly shuffled just for coverage,” he said. Under the proposed model, the number of times a crew member can be relocated within a single shift will be capped.

A paramedic said it will help if the public can be educated on what constitutes an emergency. “People often call in for matters that are not serious, even stomach aches. A lot of time and resources are spent, unnecessarily, attending to these calls.”