Contra Costa County Municipal Code Ch. 48-14 Dispatch

No person shall take or dispatch calls for the request of emergency or non-emergency ambulance service unless they have met the dispatcher training requirements established by the LEMSA.

(Ord. No. 2022-21, §§ II, III, 6-21-22).

(a) An ambulance service provider must have at least one person responsible for receiving calls and dispatching ambulances during all hours that the ambulance service provider is providing services.

(b) An ambulance service provider must have at least one person responsible for answering requests for mutual aid or responding to assist any county 9-1-1 ambulance service provider at all times.

(Ord. No. 2024-23, § III(Exh. A), 12-3-24; Ord. No. 2022-21, §§ II, III, 6-21-22).

A certificated ambulance service provider shall ensure that all of its dispatchers complete adequate LEMSA-approved training in radio and telephone operation, LEMSA policies, and the geographical areas served before the dispatcher begins taking or dispatching calls for ambulance service.

(Ord. No. 2022-21, §§ II, III, 6-21-22).

(a) An ambulance service provider shall subscribe to the electronic notification and messaging system designated by the LEMSA for communicating EMS system messages, major incident responses, and requests for mutual aid or ambulance availability queries. The system shall be operational and monitored in the ambulance service provider's dispatch center twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week.

(b) An ambulance service provider shall promptly respond to all messages and ambulance queries.

(Ord. No. 2022-21, §§ II, III, 6-21-22).

(a) An ambulance service provider holding a non-emergency certificate of operation that receives a call for emergency ambulance service shall immediately refer the caller to the 9-1-1 system.

(b) Emergency: An emergency ambulance service provider that receives a call for emergency ambulance service, or a non-emergency ambulance service provider that receives a request from the County's designated public safety answering point, shall immediately dispatch an ambulance to the address or place given. The ambulance dispatched shall immediately start a direct run to that address or place and shall complete that run unless directed otherwise by the LEMSA or LEMSA designated county communications center, or unless diverted to respond to another emergency, as authorized by the LEMSA. In no circumstance shall a LEMSA designated county communications center diverge from local EMS policy when assigning, diverting, or cancelling ambulances without express written authorization by the Contra Costa County EMS Agency medical director.

(c) Non-Emergency: A non-emergency ambulance service provider, upon receiving a call for non-emergency ambulance service, shall promptly dispatch, or schedule for dispatch at a time acceptable to the caller, an ambulance to the address or place given. The ambulance shall promptly, or at the time scheduled, start a direct run to that address or place and shall complete that run unless diverted to respond to an emergency by the LEMSA or LEMSA designated county communications center. In no circumstance shall a LEMSA designated county communications center diverge from local EMS policy when assigning, diverting, or cancelling ambulances without express written authorization by the Contra Costa County EMS Agency medical director.

(Ord. No. 2022-21, §§ II, III, 6-21-22).