EMS capacity in Alberta to be immediately increased, committee to help pave future EMS path
Alberta unveiled a 10-point plan Monday to deal with unprecedented stress on the provincial EMS system.
Health Minister Jason Copping announced the plan, along with an advisory committee, saying EMS is dealing with unprecedented demands, including a 30 per cent increase in 911 calls over the last several months due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staffing fatigue, illness, and delays in the arrival of new ambulances and specialized parts are also concerns.
“Responding to medical emergencies is a critical need for all Albertans. I am honoured to have this opportunity to make a difference and improve the system for the long term,” said Copping.
An EMS advisory committee has been created to provide immediate and long-term recommendations to the health minister by May and will be co-chaired by Highwood MLA RJ Sigurdson and Grande Prairie MLA Tracy Allard.
AHS is also working on a 10-point plan aimed at increasing capacity to EMS. Officials say five actions are already underway including:
- Better managing staff fatigue
- Transferring non-emergency or low priority calls to other agencies
- Refraining from sending ambulances to non-injury crashes
- Hiring paramedics as quickly as possible to fill vacancies, opening discussions with post-secondary institutions on expanding EMS training courses
- Improving the management of inter-facility patient transfers. Pilot projects introduced where patients are transported in vehicles other than ambulances
- The creation of an integrated operations centre in Calgary
- Adjusting emergency call evaluation protocols and provincial dispatching processes to determine if its appropriate for an ambulance from outside a jurisdiction to respond
- Pre-empting and diverting workflow to prioritize ambulances for calls with the greatest urgent medical need
- Developing a provincial service plan for the next five to 10 years
- Creating an inter-facility transfer pilot where units within a geographical area would be dedicated to transfers.
The province is also issuing a request for proposals to conduct a third party review of EMS dispatch in February.
RED ALERTS
The changes comes amid growing calls for changes from the union representing Alberta paramedics over concerns about red alerts in Calgary and Edmonton, which is when there are no ambulances available to respond to emergency calls in a jurisdiction.
On Monday, the opposition NDP also revealed data obtained through a Freedom of Information request showing Alberta’s two largest cities were issuing red alerts roughly every 90 minutes.
According to the NDP, Calgary and Edmonton saw 2,276 code reds between Aug. 1 and Dec. 6, 2021, which was an average of 17 per day. In 2020, Calgary saw an average of nine per day.
“Albertans need to know that when they are in distress and call 911 that an ambulance will reach them as quickly as possible,” said Alberta NDP Health Critic David Shepherd.
“The fact that an ambulance wasn’t available almost every hour of the day in our province’s two major cities is severely alarming.”
While Shepherd recognizes pressure on EMS has risen during the pandemic, he’s critical of the UCP’s changes to ambulance dispatch services, which took place last January.
He’s calling on the UCP to start reporting EMS red alerts to the public and to restore the Hospital EMS Liaison Officers Program (HELO) which was cancelled by the UCP in October 2019.
The health minister says response times are posted online for different response times and says the new committee will be considering a number of different options to improve EMS response times.
Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, the union representing EMS workers, issued a statement Monday afternoon following the announcement.
“It is long past time an Alberta government got to work on solving the EMS crisis in Alberta. Our advocacy to expose the state of EMS by reporting red alerts has made the need for action clear," it read.
“HSAA has been asked to come to the table to come up with solutions. As the experts in the delivery of emergency medical services we are more than willing to get to work. However, to be clear, HSAA will not be recommending or supportive of any privatization efforts.
“My focus throughout this process will be the health of Albertans and ensuring care is there when they need it. Every dollar needs to be spent on patient care — not profits for private contractors.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.