SickKids Acute Care Transport Service and Toronto Paramedic Services celebrate five years of partnership

Since 2019, ACTS and TPS have solidified a partnership with 24/7 dedicated, staffed ambulances to provide seamless, high-quality care and transport for critically ill newborns, children and youth in Ontario. This year marks five years of successful collaboration between the two teams, which facilitate over 2,200 patient transfers each year.  

SickKids’ ACTS team, composed of specially trained nurses, respiratory therapists, and critical care physicians, has become an integral part of Ontario’s paediatric health care system. The integration of SickKids ACTS and TPS was a visionary step towards addressing the unique challenges faced by the teams whose coverage stretches from Mississauga to Cobourg and north to Sudbury.

A mobile intensive care unit for babies, children and youth

One of the most significant outcomes of this partnership has been the development of custom-built ambulances, designed to serve as “mobile intensive care units”. These state-of-the-art vehicles are equipped with advanced medical technologies, to better support the teams in providing highly specialized and complex care to some of the most vulnerable patients being transported to SickKids.  

“With over 45 enhancements compared to standard ambulances, these new features designed within a customized layout aim to provide ACTS with a safer and more appropriate setting to provide care during inter-hospital transports and help improve outcomes for more vulnerable patients,” notes Dr. Hilary Whyte, Medical Director, ACTS.  

The design of these custom ambulances was a result of extensive collaboration between TPS fleet experts and the ACTS clinical team. Some of the innovative features include vibration dampening, higher capacity medical gas systems, ability to carry new technologies such as cooling blankets and phototherapy lights, Wi-Fi compatibility with 5G technology and improved seating options. Additional safety features like four-point seatbelt restraints allow clinicians to safely lean forward, move around to provide care for patients while the ambulance is in motion. 

“By working closely with Dr. Whyte, her team at SickKids, and other key partners in the development of these custom ambulances, we’ve realized our shared vision for the provision of unparalleled pediatric and neonatal care, while upholding the highest standards of safety for the ACTS team,” says Chief Bikram Chawla, Toronto Paramedic Services.

Improving response during critical situations

Since the launch of the partnership and dedicated ambulances, the SickKids ACTS team has seen a dramatic improvement in mobilization and response times. Prior to having dedicated ambulances at the hospital staffed with paramedics, the team was challenged with meeting their goal of leaving SickKids within 15 minutes of receiving a call for help. Now, the team is able to meet this target over 65 per cent of the time.  

The ability to mobilize quickly is crucial to the team’s ability to provide timely care, particularly in critical situations where every second counts. Dedicated ambulances also mean that teams are able to expedite timely transfers back to SickKids or other tertiary care hospitals after they have stabilized the patient at the referral hospital.   The addition of the paramedics to the team has also improved stabilization times with ‘all hands on deck’ to complete the mission. 

“The partnership between ACTS and TPS has set a new standard for paediatric transport medicine,” says Kristie Newton, Senior Manager, ACTS. “With our continued teamwork, we look forward to being able to further enhance the critical care we provide to some of Ontario’s most vulnerable patients.”