If transport time to the closest facility is within five minutes, what should BLS personnel do?

• A. Transport the patient to the closest appropriate facility and alert the receiving facility
• B. Transport the patient to the closest facility and inform the dispatcher only
• C. Stay on scene until ALS arrives
• D. Transport to the farthest facility

Answer: (B)

The main idea is to get the patient to definitive care as quickly as possible when the closest facility is reachable in a few minutes. In this scenario, the best action is to transport to the nearest appropriate facility and have the dispatcher notify the receiving hospital. This keeps the patient moving toward definitive care without delay, and it uses the dispatcher to coordinate hospital notification so the receiving facility is prepared.

Staying on scene until ALS arrives would add on-scene time without improving outcome for a patient who can be transported promptly by BLS. Transporting to the farthest facility would unnecessarily delay treatment. If there were specific bypass rules for certain conditions (like stroke or trauma), those would apply, but with a five-minute window to the closest facility, rapid transport with dispatcher notification is the appropriate choice.