Transport - RCCbc

The Transport initiative conducts research and advocacy on emergency medical transport in rural British Columbia. The group collaborates with rural physicians, the BC Ministry of Health, health authorities and communities to find ways to improve emergency medical transport to improve rural patients’ health outcomes.

Achievements

Renewing the Rural, Remote and First Nations Transport Partnership Table

In 2025, the Rural, Remote and First Nations Transport Partnership Table was reconvened under the co-leadership of Dr. Trina Larsen-Soles (RCCbc Transport Lead) and Ms. Jennie Helmer, Chief Operating Officer, BCEHS. The table brings together leaders and experts from across the provincial health system—including policymakers, health administrators, clinicians, academics, Indigenous partners, and community representatives—to address long-standing gaps in patient transport for rural, remote and First Nations communities.

Over the past year, membership was renewed and broadened to include diverse perspectives from across the province. Strong engagement has been re-established across participating organizations. The Partnership Table now serves as a forum for relationship-building, shared learning, and coordinated action. Through structured discussions and collaboration, partners are identifying system-level opportunities to improve access to timely and appropriate patient transport.

Grounded in a quality improvement approach aligned with the Quintuple Aim, the table focuses on promoting equity, improving patient and provider experience, and enhancing system efficiency. This renewed collaboration marks a meaningful step toward building a more coordinated and equitable transport system for communities across rural and remote British Columbia.

Advancing Key Performance Indicators for Inter-Facility Transport

A major focus of the Partnership Table in 2025 was advancing the development of provincial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Inter-Facility Transport (IFT). Building on foundational work from previous years, members collaborated to adopt a value-stream approach that measures each stage of the patient journey—from the initial request for help through to arrival at the receiving facility and eventual repatriation.

The KPI framework was refined through partnership with the RCCbc Transport Working Group, provincial partners, and health authorities. Discussions focused on selecting reliable and meaningful data points to monitor system performance with a patient-focused and quality improvement lens. The adoption of the Quintuple Aim ensures a balanced approach that considers patient experience and outcomes, provider experience, health equity, and system sustainability.

Recognizing the unique realities of rural geography and patient complexity, partners emphasized the need for KPIs that reflect these contexts. BCEHS is now developing a new dashboard to report on these indicators, providing insight into system performance and guiding targeted quality improvement efforts. This work represents an important step toward a transparent, data-informed system that supports transport equity and timeliness for rural, remote, and First Nations communities.

Data Analytics for Rural Transport Performance

In 2025, the Data Analytics Working Group advanced efforts to strengthen the evidence base for rural and remote patient transport improvement. Working collaboratively with BCEHS, PHSA, and health authority partners, the group helped define the technical and reporting requirements for a new Inter-Facility Transport dashboard.

This dashboard will enable more consistent tracking of key metrics such as transfer volumes, response times, and resource utilization across the province. By improving access to accurate and consistent data, partners will be able to better identify trends, monitor performance, and guide decisions that enhance patient transport services.

This collaborative approach to data and measurement reinforces a shared commitment to improving transport outcomes and equity for people living in British Columbia’s rural, remote, and First Nations communities.

Explore the Numbers

3 Partnership meetings

Transport group were part of three Provincial Partnership Table meetings since June 2025.

100% Participation

All six sectors of the Pentagram Partnership Plus participated in transport discussions.

Project Partnerships

The Rural, Remote and First Nations Transport Partnership Table continued to make progress through collaboration with partners across the provincial health system. This work was supported by the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc) in partnership with BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), provincial and regional health authorities, and members of the Pentagram Partnership Plus.

The Transport Partnership Table served as a key space for collaboration, bringing together clinicians, operational leaders, policymakers, rural residents, and system partners to address challenges related to emergency and inter-facility patient transport in rural communities. Together, members aligned priorities, shared operational insights, and identified opportunities to strengthen the transport system across the province.

Partnership efforts were especially important in advancing the development of Inter-facility Transport (IFT) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the design of a provincial dashboard to enhance transparency and monitoring of transport performance. Input from the RCCbc Transport Working Group, BCEHS leadership, and health authority partners ensured the indicators reflected operational realities and the unique needs of rural and remote communities.

Making a Difference

Improving Response Times through Auto-Acceptance Policy

Dr. Jeff Beselt shared clinical experiences and emerging data that show how updates to the auto-acceptance policy for emergency transport are improving response times in several remote First Nations communities. As a rural physician, Jeff described the realities faced by remote areas, where even short delays in transport can have serious impacts on patient outcomes.

The auto-acceptance approach allows specific emergency transfers to proceed without first requiring confirmation of an accepted bed at the receiving centre. Supported by the analytics team, a detailed review of auto-acceptance data revealed meaningful improvements in response times. The average call-to-dispatch interval decreased from roughly 12–14 minutes to about four minutes, saving an estimated 5–10 minutes per transfer. In communities that depend on air transport, these minutes can be crucial for maintaining daylight access, ensuring aircraft availability, and preventing further delays.

Dr. Beselt also presented comparative data from multiple rural and fly-in communities, showing how streamlined processes can make the system more responsive. These findings highlight the importance of simplifying transport pathways and strengthening collaboration among BCEHS, health authorities, and rural clinicians to support timely access to care. They also demonstrate the value of using local data to guide system improvements in geographically remote and underserved regions.

Plans for the Future

The team will continue to strengthen relationships through the Partnership Table. Meeting quarterly has brought more structure and shared expectations to working group outcomes, while supporting the integration of a quality improvement approach across our activities. The focus will remain on making the regular collection of transport system metrics a standard part of our work to drive ongoing improvement across BC.