Oswego County EMS
Purpose of this training

Present the EMS Communications
procedures to the users
Important principle
The current version of the procedures is
expected to be followed. In other words,
not following procedures is not an option
 If anyone has suggestions for
improvements, please send them to the
EMS Coordinator. This should be done
via email (jjones@oswegocounty.com)

Why are we doing this?
To effectively communicate
 Make maximum use of the new radio
system
 Comply with current national
communications practices (National
Interoperability Field Operations Guide)
 Minimize the burden on the 911 Center

Training process

All EMS providers shall
 Receive a copy of the
○ Oswego County EMS Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP)
○ Radio System EMS Operator Aid
 Read, understand and comply with the SOP
 Begin using the procedures on 23 July 2012

Attendance roster and affirmation shall
be signed
General Radio Use
Please read the section
 Essential points

 Keep your messages short and to the point
 Eliminate useless words and unneeded
transmissions
 Have a portable and pager with you always
 Use the standardized terminology in the
procedures
General Radio Use

Each crew should ALWAYS
 Have a portable with them and turned ON
 Have a pager with them and turned ON

Before asking dispatch to repeat the
address, nature or priority, hit the repeat
button on the pager
General Radio Use

Use
 Responding
 Arrived
 Available
 Out of service
 Priority
 Non-priority

Don’t use










Enroute
On scene or On location
In service
Clear
In quarters
Off the air
At this time
When prepared
Be advised
Come on the air for
Talkgroups and their uses

If in doubt, refer to the procedure or
Operator Aid
1. EMS Incident Dispatch
Please read the section
 Points

 Validate dispatch information using the
pager
 When stating “Responding”, also state
where you are responding to (that is, the
address you were dispatched to)
○ Example: McFee 4 responding to 120 North
Street, Mexico
2. EMS Unit Response to Minor
Incidents
Please read the section
 Points

 Use Ops 3 unless a Fireground has been
assigned
3. EMS Unit Response to Major
Incidents
Please read the section
 Points

 First EMS unit on the scene ALWAYS
assumes EMS sector command
 Incident Command is required to be
informed of all resource requests
(ambulances or helicopters for example)
 Major incident = 3 or more ambulances, or 2
or more fire agencies
○ Use assigned fireground or talkgroup
4. EMS Response to an MCI
Please read the section
 Points

 Use the MCI plan
 First EMS unit on the scene ALWAYS
assumes EMS sector command
 Use OPS 4 or 5 (network talkgroups) to
coordinate incoming EMS units
 Use EMS Talk 6 or 7 (Non network talk
groups) to talk to EMS units on scene
5. Patient reports to hospitals


Please read section
Points
 Primary for Oswego Hospital is OswED talkgroup.
Secondary is 155.340
 Med Channels are available on the County radios

Clearance through Oswego 911 to Syracuse
 Use OPS 5
○
○
○
○
○
○
ONLY for stable patients and no physicians orders needed
Sex and age
Chief complaint
ETA
Nothing else (no hx, no VS, no “VS are stable”)
If you think you need to relate additional info, then you
need to call the ED
6. Coordination with other
agencies
Please read section
 Points

 For contacting other, non-Fire agencies (Law or
Highway for example)
○ Use CW16
○ Example: If you are staging waiting for Law, call
on CW 16 “North Shore 1 to the Law unit enroute
to Salt Road”
○ To talk to another ambulance for any reason, go to
OPS 3 or OPS 4
 Call the other ambulance on EMS Dispatch
 Tell them to go to OPS 3 or 4
7. Coordination with Air Medical
Please read section
 Points

 Use Ewide, or
 Use whatever talkgroup that 911 has
assigned to patch, or
8. EMS Ops in other Counties
Please read section
 Points

 Use EWide
 Use County zones (Onondaga or Cayuga)
9. Mayday
Please read the section
 Points

 After you press the emergency button and
hear the emergency signal, your mic stays
open for 10 seconds
 Remain silent or state your situation
 Law will respond to your location if
requested OR if there is no response from
you after hitting the emergency button
10. Intra-agency Ops
Same as old “6-11”
 Remember…this is not a private
talkgroup

11. Returning to service
Please read the section
 Points

 State “returning” when you leave the
hospital
○ If the ambulance is trashed, you may also
report “out of service” at this time
 State “available” when in or near your
service territory
12. Use of scan
Please read section
 Points

 Disabling, scan deleting or adding
talkgroups should only be done rarely. Very,
very rarely.
 If you want to call someone on a talkgroup
that is not scanned, then
○ First call them on a scanned talkgroup
(preferably OPS 3 or CW16)
○ Tell them to meet you on the desired talkgroup
13. Radio system failure

Please read the section
14. Request for resources
Please read the section
 Points

 When requesting additional resources,
please state the reason for the request
○ Example: Request Central Square Fire for lift
assist
○ Example: Request Law for a violent patient
Questions?
Suggestions?