Permanent Secretary for Security Stanley Ying says the study on the feasibility of introducing a priority ambulance dispatch system will be completed in September.

Speaking on a radio talkshow today, Mr Ying said the Government does not have a position on the prioritisation proposal. However, if it decides to run the system, patients' safety will remain its top concern. All patients whose conditions cannot be defined immediately should also be handled as urgent cases.

Mr Ying said the Government reviews the delivery models of ambulance services because of the recent surge of emergency calls. Last year, there were about 540,000 emergency calls and about 40% were not urgent.

US system

According to US experience, dispatch prioritisation will enable categorisation of calls, and enable more flexible and targeted use of resources.

Mr Ying said the US prioritisation system differentiates the level of urgency of the calls by asking the caller a set of well-designed questions. Those questions help hotline operators know the patients' vital signs so as to decide what level of services should be delivered.

He said the standard adopted by the US is quite lenient and patients with undefined health conditions are still being treated as urgent cases.

On the ambulance services fee proposal, Mr Ying said the Government will look into the possibility of charging in conjunction with the prioritisation study.