MOHLTC - Emergency Health Services - Central Ambulance Communications Centre

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Central Ambulance Communications Centres

Land ambulance services in Ontario provide emergency pre-hospital care transporting patients across municipal boundaries without reference to residence or other demographic factors.

Central Ambulance Communications Centres are often the initial access point to Ontario's emergency health services system for many victims of illness or injury.

CACCs (pronounced "kacks") prioritize the urgency of requests, determine the appropriate destination hospital to meet patient needs and provide callers with pre-arrival first aid instructions. The centres deploy, coordinate and direct the movement of all ambulances and emergency response vehicles within geographic catchment areas to ensure an integrated healthcare system.

Computer-aided wide-area central dispatching and technology, such as automatic vehicle location using global positioning systems, help the dispatcher to determine and assign the closest available and most appropriate ambulance to each emergency.

In addition, CACCs further contribute to Ontario's integrated system by coordinating the transfer of patients between health care facilities.

Ontario Dispatch Centres

There are 19 land ambulance Central Ambulance Communications Centres located throughout the province.

Eleven CACCs are operated directly by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in Barrie, Cambridge, Hamilton, Lindsay, London, Mississauga, Renfrew, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Whitby and Windsor. Five are operated by hospitals in Kenora, Kingston, North Bay, Sault Ste Marie and Wallaceburg, and three are operated by municipalities (Ottawa, Timmins and Toronto).

Ontario also has four locally-based Ambulance Communications Services (ACS) serving the communities of Moosonee, Muskoka, Niaagra Region and Parry Sound. The Niagara ACS is a five-year pilot project to determine if locally-based dispatch services and specific technological innovations provide improvement over the CACC model for the delivery of pre-hospital emergency medical care.

Become an Ambulance Dispatcher

The Ambulance Communications Officer is often the first contact with those in need. If you prefer a behind-the-scenes career, but still want to be challenged and make a difference, become an Ambulance Communications Officer.



Emergency Health Services Branch 5700 Yonge Street, 6th Floor Toronto, Ontario Canada M2M 4K5 Tel : 1-800-461-6431 (Toll-free in Ontario only) Fax : 416-327-7911 Email : ehs.websitecontact@sdsx.moh.gov.on.ca	Call the ministry INFOline at 1-866-532-3161 (Toll-free in Ontario only) TTY 1-800-387-5559 Hours of operation : 8:30am - 5:00pm