AOD999
Member
I've always wondered what the CTAS Scale is. I'm assuming greater the number the higher the severity. Does anyone have a chart for it? Also what does VTOC and or VTOC delay actually mean?
Toronto EMS Acronyms
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CTAS is the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale.
Are you sure you're not hearing Ventricular Tachycardia?
Are you sure you're not hearing Ventricular Tachycardia?
I would venture a guess at VTOC being Victim Time of Contact, the time the crew arrived at the patient vs. the on scene time.
AOD999
Member
I usually hear dispatch calling an ems group to call clearing with their status and a repetitive reply ends up being vtoc delay
In that context, it looks like an interrogative from the dispatcher that they are looking for an ETA to clearing.
In Boston, the dispatcher is prompted to inquire about a unit's status 20 minutes after they arrive at the hospital.
In Boston, the dispatcher is prompted to inquire about a unit's status 20 minutes after they arrive at the hospital.
You're hearing PTOC. Paramedic Transfer Of Care. Basically when the patient has been handed over to the hospital - IE, the crew is available for calls again.
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CTAS Level 1: CTAS level assigned for resuscitation.
CTAS Level 2: CTAS level assigned for emergent.
CTAS Level 3: CTAS level assigned for urgent.
CTAS Level 4: CTAS level assigned for less urgent.
CTAS Level 5: CTAS level assigned for non-urgent.
CTAS Level 2: CTAS level assigned for emergent.
CTAS Level 3: CTAS level assigned for urgent.
CTAS Level 4: CTAS level assigned for less urgent.
CTAS Level 5: CTAS level assigned for non-urgent.
This has always intrigued me as it wasn't in use when I lived in the GTA (before it was the GTA... somebody get me my walker!) and I only rarely hear it referenced elsewhere in the country. All around the parts of Alberta I work in, we go with status black (dead), red (critical - I guess covering both emergent and urgent), yellow (less urgent), green (non-urgent).
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I think the Alberta variation is easier understood. I'm suprised there is not one standard.
rc1990
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There is. CTAS. Anyone using anything else isn't using the accepted standard.
Keep in mind, CTAS levels are NOT the same as a "Code" system that Ontario EMS services use, or a "BLS Hot, ALS Cold, etc..." system.
The way we were taught it was that CTAS refers to the patient, and the "Code" or "Response Priority" referred to the vehicle. For example, if an ambulance was transporting a patient who is in asystole (no electrical heart activity) they'd be Code 4, CTAS 1. The ambulance would be traveling Code 4 and the patient is CTAS 1.
The CTAS business came into play in the Ambulance world in the (IIRC) early '00s as part of a plan to have ambulance crews and hospital staff "communicate in a common language" when it comes to patients.
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