Ambulance
Fleet Dispatch
The Ambulance module manages the hospital's emergency response vehicles—tracking fleet readiness, dispatching the right vehicle for each emergency, monitoring trips in real-time, and ensuring vehicles are maintained and restocked.
What is Ambulance Management?
Ambulance Management handles the dispatch and tracking of emergency vehicles. It manages fleet inventory (each ambulance with its capabilities: Basic Life Support, Advanced Life Support, Neonatal), dispatch requests(from ER or external calls), trip tracking (GPS-based route and duration monitoring), and post-trip procedures (restocking, cleaning, returning to available status).
The system ensures the right type of ambulance is sent for each situation—a cardiac emergency needs an ALS-equipped vehicle while a non-emergency transfer can use a basic transport unit.
Why Does It Exist?
- → Wrong vehicle dispatched — Sending a basic transport for a cardiac arrest wastes critical time
- → Unavailable vehicles — Without maintenance tracking, ambulances might break down mid-response
- → No trip records — Without logging trips, there's no audit trail for response times or mileage
- → Supply shortages — Ambulances returning without restocking are useless for the next emergency
How Ambulance Dispatch Works
Dispatch Request
A request comes in from the ER (for an inter-hospital transfer) or from an external emergency call. The dispatcher records the pickup location, destination, patient condition, and required vehicle type.
Vehicle Assignment
The dispatcher assigns the most suitable available vehicle. The crew (driver + paramedic) is notified. The trip timer starts. GPS tracking begins.
Trip Monitoring
The dispatcher monitors the trip in real-time. They can see the vehicle's location, estimated arrival time, and trip duration. Upon reaching the destination, the trip is marked as completed.
Return & Refill
After the trip, the vehicle returns to base. The crew restocks medical supplies, cleans the cabin, and refuels. The vehicle is marked as "Available" only after these checks are completed.
Every Feature Explained
Fleet Management
Maintain a registry of all ambulances with their capabilities and status.
Know at a glance which vehicles are available and what they can do.
Each vehicle is recorded with type, capability (ALS/BLS), registration number, last maintenance date, and current status (available, dispatched, maintenance).
Specialized Dispatch
Match the right vehicle type to each emergency.
A cardiac arrest needs advanced life support equipment; a routine transfer doesn't.
System filters vehicles by required capability. Only matching vehicles show as available for the dispatch. Crew with appropriate certifications are assigned.
Trip Logging
Record every trip with timestamps, distance, and purpose.
Provides operational data for fleet optimization and audit trails for billing.
Trips are logged with pickup/destination, start/end times, distance, patient details, and crew. Reports summarize fleet utilization.
Maintenance Management
Track service schedules and lock vehicles with pending maintenance.
Prevents breakdowns during emergency responses.
Scheduled maintenance is based on mileage or time intervals. Vehicles due for service are automatically locked from dispatch until maintenance is completed and confirmed.
Fleet
Architecture
The fleet engine manages vehicle health and crew assignments with GPS telemetry logged per trip and cross-referenced with clinical triage data.
Technical Architecture
| Field | Type | Institutional Role |
|---|---|---|
| trip_id | UUID | Unique mission identifier for the trip. |
| vehicle_id | Varchar(32) | Specific ambulance fleet mapping. |
| driver_id | UUID | Assigned institutional driver ID. |
| start_vitals_sync | Boolean | Flag indicating if mobile vitals telemetry was initiated pre-arrival. |
Note: Sensitive fields use AES-256 field-level encryption where applicable.
Governance & Power
ambulance:viewambulance:dispatchambulance:manage-fleetambulance:completeSpecialization Logic
System auto-filters vehicles based on requirement (Cardiac vs. Neonatal vs. Basic Transport).
Maintenance Lock
Ambulances with pending critical maintenance are auto-locked from the dispatch interface.
Pre-arrival handoff
Clinical data captured by paramedics en route is synced to the ER nursing station before arrival.