You can’t put a price on a patient safety Rochester’s Fire Chief said to promote switching from the basic life support services currently offered through town ambulances, to a system of advanced life support.

“The amount of pre-hospital treatment we can provide will be twice what we can do now,” Chief Scott Weigel said.

Ultimately, voters will decide if the change takes place if they approve increasing the total EMT budget by $129,797. The vote is scheduled to take place at Town Meeting on May 20.

Weigel spoke at Monday’s Board of Selectmen during an information session.

The department received a $100,000 grant from the Southcoast Hospital System to purchase equipment and hire additional first responders.

Weigel reported a 40 percent increase in emergency calls from the previous year. From last July, until March 29 of this year, emergency personnel answered 433 calls; 142 calls were for basic support, 179 were for advanced support, while the remaining calls required no patient care.

An advanced life support designation - and more first responders - will help meet the challenges that increase provides he said.

The basic life support rating limits the type of pre-hospital treatment town EMTs may provide. If advanced life service is required, a neighboring town providing that care is called, which sometimes delays treatment, Weigel said.

Also, the town will hold on to more money from billings by adopting advanced life support. He noted about 90 percent of emergency calls require an advanced life support response.

To cut costs, part-time paramedics will be hired he said.

The proposal has been under review for a year. Weigel and members of his staff have met with many departments with advanced life support.

Rochester is the only town in Plymouth County to maintain basic life support ambulance service Weigel said.