Toronto Emergency Medical Services is committed to being a leader in emergency medical services and to providing our community with excellence in pre-hospital and out of hospital care by:

• Valuing our staff, patients and clients.
• Maintaining and promoting the highest standards of our profession.
• Supporting illness and accident prevention
• Managing our resources effectively.
• Working collaboratively with our colleagues in health care and emergency services.

Vision

Toronto EMS strives to meet the changing needs of the community for pre-hospital and out of hospital care and believes that by the timely application of the advances of both the art and science of medicine to the practice of emergency medical services, we can decrease suffering, improve the health of the community and save lives.

Philosophy

• Emergency medical services is a continuum of care and caring which encompasses both pre-hospital and out of hospital patient care.
• Pre-hospital care includes the support, instruction, care and treatment provided from the moment the request for emergency care is initiated until the patient's care is transferred to the receiving health care provider.
• Out of hospital care includes all other aspects of care and treatment provided by emergency services personnel including patient transfers, response to and the treatment of citizens involved in mass casualty incidents and community emergencies, and the provision of medical support to our allied emergency services.
• All Toronto EMS staff participate in the provision of emergency medical services and support our motto, "People Helping People".
• Emergency medical services personnel are caring, skilled and intelligent health care professionals whose goal is to provide their patients with the best possible care.
• Emergency medical services personnel are worthy of trust and confidence and consistently strive to do what is appropriate for their patients.
• Emergency medical services personnel understand the complexities of their environment, exercise good judgement and utilize system resources appropriately.
• Medical care is an art based on science. Emergency medical services are frequently provided in an uncontrolled and at times hostile environment making the application of both the art and science of our profession more difficult. Emergency medical services personnel strive to overcome these challenges to ensure the best possible outcome for their patients.

Goals

• Maintain best practice standards of care which meet or exceed the industry standards.
• Provide the community with a full spectrum of emergency medical services.
• Support the growth and development of emergency medical services as an integral part of the health care community and as a health care profession.

Objectives

• Participate with allied agencies and municipal and provincial emergency organizations and representatives to plan, organize and maintain and provide a readiness and capacity to respond appropriately to mass casualty incidents and community disasters.
• Educate the public and the health care community about the roles and functions of Toronto EMS.
• Encourage and support illness and accident prevention.
• Provide the community with a functional system of priority dispatch which includes pre-arrival and post-dispatch patient care instructions.
• Support measurable, reliable and meaningful response time standards for all emergency responses.
• Provide timely, effective and medically valued response to all emergencies.
• Provide the community and health care facilities with transfer services which meet on time performance standards and client expectations. Provide medical and critical incident stress management support for staff and our allied emergency services.
• Ensure that the standards of in-service education and training are maintained.
• Support and provide excellence in continuing medical education programs relevant to the practice of emergency medical services.
• Support and provide excellence in the education and training of paramedics consistent with the standards of accreditation of the Canadian Medical Association.
• Support departmental and individual participation and innovation in research and development which promotes the advancement of our profession.
• Manage our resources effectively and efficiently ensuring that Toronto EMS operates in a fiscally responsible manner.