ambulances & technology firegeezer on 18 May 2008 02:17 pm
Ignore The GPS, Crews Told
AFTER SPENDING £5 MILLION ($9.5 million) TO EQUIP all 460 ambulances with GPS finding systems, the Scottish Ambulance Service has sent a memo to the medics instructing them to not use them. They are being told instead to use map books like they always have, because the satellite systems don’t always give the best route to where they are going.
Their “satnav” system, as they call it, is the most advanced in the UK and was launched last year amidst a wave of publicity and hoopla. But now they are being informed:
The satellite navigation system is for guidance only. The system will guide you through the main route, which is not always necessarily the most direct or quickest possible.
The system is most effective once you are in close proximity to the address and is an aid to finding the correct location.
A map route should always be used and should be available. The satellite navigation system is for guidance only.
The Sunday Mail, which is reporting this turnabout, offers two quotes from SAS announcements,
Last year:
‘New satnav will generate faster response times by crews’
Now:
‘The satnav will not always guide you through the quickest route’
Read the full article HERE.
Scottish Ambulance Service WEBSITE.
on 18 May 2008 at 8:52 pm 1.Laptop GPS World said …
Perhaps the GPS navigation software they use is not the best for purpose.