Ambulance despatch systems: the Melbourne story

Author

Dalcher, Darren

Author_Institution

Sch. of Comput. Sci., Middlesex Univ., London, UK

fYear

2001

fDate

2001

Firstpage

337

Lastpage

342

Abstract

This case study charts the story of the problematic implementation of a computerised despatch system for the Melbourne Ambulance Service. The system itself is now operational; however, the legal and political implications are still subject to the deliberations of inquiry boards and police investigations. The value of the case study is in highlighting some of the pitfalls and implications of failing to consider the financial pressures and resource constraints that define the (medical) despatch environment.

Keywords

dispatching; emergency services; finance; legislation; politics; software development management; Melbourne Ambulance Service; ambulance despatch systems; case study; computerised despatch system; financial pressures; inquiry boards; legal implications; medical despatch environment; police investigations; political implications; problematic implementation; resource constraints; Australia; Contracts; Costs; Disaster management; Financial management; Government; Law; Legal factors; Technology management; Vehicles;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Engineering of Computer Based Systems, 2001. ECBS 2001. Proceedings. Eighth Annual IEEE International Conference and Workshop on the

Conference_Location

Washington, DC, USA

Print_ISBN

0-7695-1086-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ECBS.2001.922441

Filename

922441