AMPDS categories: are they an appropriate method to select cases for extended role ambulance practitioners?

To examine the correlation between the AMPDS prioritisation category at dispatch and the use of alternative clinical dispatch using data from an emergency care practitioner (ECP) service dispatching on likely clinical need.

Data for a 12-month period were reviewed for all 999 calls seen by an ECP and comparison was made between AMPDS code/category and outcome of the patient.

3955 cases were reviewed with all but two AMPDS code groups represented. All categories showed alternative pathways to the emergency department used by ECPs: category A, 36%; category B, 52%; category C, 44%.

Clinically directed dispatch for ECPs allows utilisation of alternative pathways across all AMPDS categories, suggesting that AMPDS alone is not a good predictor of potential for avoiding emergency department attendance and possible hospital admission.