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Reducing ambulance response times using discrete event simulation.

Sean Shao Wei Lam¹, Zhong Cheng Zhang, Hong Choon Oh

¹from the Health Services Research and Biostatistics Unit, Division of Research, Singapore General Hospital , Singapore (SSWL) , Department of Emergency Medicine, Singapore General Hospital , Singapore (ZCZ, MEHO) , Centre for Health Services Research, Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd , Singapore (HCO) , Medical Department, Singapore Civil Defence Force , Singapore (YYN) , Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore , Singapore (WW) .

Prehospital Emergency Care

|October 19, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Optimizing Singapore Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with a discrete-event simulation (DES) model improved ambulance response times. Reallocating ambulances and modifying dispatch policies proved as effective as adding new units, without increasing costs.

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Area of Science:

Operations Research
Healthcare Systems Engineering
Public Health Policy

Background:

Singapore's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) face challenges in optimizing ambulance response times.
Evaluating policy alternatives for EMS improvement requires robust modeling tools.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a discrete-event simulation (DES) model for Singapore's EMS.
To utilize the DES model to assess strategies for reducing ambulance response times.

Main Methods:

A DES model was constructed using 6 months of retrospective emergency call data.
The model analyzed response time distributions and ambulance unit hour utilization (UHU).
Policy alternatives included ambulance reallocation, fleet expansion, and dispatch modifications.

Main Results:

A combined strategy of dispatch policy modification and ambulance reallocation matched the performance of adding 10 ambulances.
This strategy reduced the gap in response time distribution by 11-13%.
Median UHU was 0.324 (IQR 0.047) with the combined strategy, compared to 0.285 (IQR 0.051) for adding ambulances.

Conclusions:

Effective ambulance reallocation and dispatch policies significantly improve EMS response times.
These improvements were achieved without increased costs or reduced fleet utilization.
DES provides a versatile platform for modeling complex EMS systems and evaluating operational strategies.