New 911 system for emergency calls rolling out in Haldimand November 6, 2025

The Government of Ontario is changing the way 911 calls are handled across the province by introducing a new Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) to improve how medical emergencies are triaged and prioritized. Haldimand County will transition to the MPDS on November 6, 2025.  

MPDS is the standard for patient triage in more than 46 countries, and will soon be used by all emergency medical services in Ontario.  

This change ensures that patients with life-threatening conditions receive the quickest care by applying a science-backed approach to assessing medical situations. Under the previous system, paramedics often had to respond to less urgent calls before more critical ones, causing longer wait times and delays at the hospital.  

Under the new system, 911 dispatchers will ask a few more questions than usual to better triage calls and prioritize life-threatening cases over less urgent ones.   

If someone is having an urgent but non-life-threatening emergency, they may wait longer for paramedics to arrive if paramedics are busy with other patients, or someone else calls 911 who needs more immediate care. For example, if an individual has broken their wrist, and someone else is having difficulty breathing, the next available paramedic will be sent to the person in respiratory distress.  

“Ultimately, the MPDS will give emergency personnel the best chance to save lives by triaging calls based on criticality and assigning the most appropriate resources based on an individual patient’s needs,” noted Haldimand County Fire Chief/Manager of Emergency Services Jason Gallagher.