Health PEI has invested about $200,000 for a new ambulance dispatch system it believes could improve response times.

Pam Trainor of Health PEI says the new ambulance dispatch system offers several improvements. (CBC)

The current Island EMS communication desk dispatches ambulances with the help of a GPS program, but the system has some drawbacks, including not showing which ambulances are already on a call.

Pam Trainor, executive director of acute care for Health PEI, said the new computer-automated system offers a lot more information and options.

"The automated system will help to geo-locate and map all calls, it'll help show where the available and closest units are and then we'll also be able to provide them instantly with the best route from A to B, so from where they are right now to where they need to be," said Trainor.

That information will be sent to a tablet in each ambulance.

Trainor said the new system will also give Health PEI more information on response times and the areas with most calls, which could lead to tweaks to the system.