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
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.