Emergency Response
The QAS Northern Region provides a response to emergencies throughout the region 24 hours per day, 365 days of the year. These responses may involve illness or injury, life threatening emergencies such as heart attacks, asthma attacks, or serious trauma, or less serious incidents involving pain and suffering, such as fractures, cuts, and general illness.
Calls made for ambulance assistance via 000 or the communications centre lines are received at the Communications Centres at Townsville. The calls are prioritised according to the information provided by the caller, and the appropriate ambulance resources are dispatched according to location and nature of the incident. These resources may include response of aircraft, such as the Queensland Rescue Helicopter or RFDS, of marine vessels, such as Coast Guard or Water Police Launch, and the allocation of medical teams from local hospitals. The type of ambulance vehicle may also be considered, as in many parts of the Northern Region the main access is by 4-wheel drive vehicle only. In some centres it may be also appropriate to also receive assistance from other personnel such as QFRS, SES and Police.
In addition, the region has officers with a wide range of specialised skills and equipment, such as drugs, defibrillators and resuscitation kits. In all cases, communication centres endeavour to send the closest and most suitable emergency resource to maximise the patient care provided.
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