'It falls directly on the current government': Concern being expressed over EMS wait times in rural Alberta
Code red has become the new norm for Alberta EMS paramedics in some southern Alberta communities.
That's when there is no ambulance available to respond when someone calls for help. A code red in larger centres has a trickle down effect as paramedics are pulled from other communities like Coaldale.
“When they're out of town, then we have to rely on ambulances coming from out of district,” said Coaldale’s fire chief, Kevin McKeown.
“We're not immune to the problem, we've long been isolated down here for a long time, but we're really starting to see the stress on the system, where I think you're starting to see the issue provincially.”
EMS are seeing staffing shortages from the pandemic, opioid crisis, staff illness or fatigue. McKeown says the average wait time for EMS from Lethbridge to Coaldale is 15 minutes, but when crews can't be deployed from there, that’s when wait times can stack up.
“We're waiting for an ambulance to come from either Raymond or Picture Butte, so that’s typically where we see our longest waits, and we could be waiting on scene for 17 to 20 minutes for one of those other communities to get here,” said McKeown.
But when time is of the essence, every second counts.
“If there’s no ambulance in Coaldale, then our fire department will respond first,” said McKeown.
“Even if it’s a non-emergency, just so we can get that timely care and someone’s not waiting an extended period of time.”
EMS are seeing staffing shortages from the pandemic, opioid crisis, staff illness or fatigue.
The village of Stirling is no stranger to long wait times either. The nearest health centre to them is in Raymond, with average wait times being roughly 18 minutes, but when Raymond can't send out help, wait times double.
“When the Raymond unit is not unavailable, we often have service actually from Lethbridge,” said Stirling Mayor Trevor Lewington.
“So those response times can be as long as 35 to 40 minutes. That’s a very long time for people to be dealing with an emergency situation.”
To ensure the safety of his residents, Lewington has taken matters into his own hands.
“The volunteers of our fire department have to be trained to provide medical first response, so as a municipality, we’re providing some of that training, some of that equipment and really taking on that responsibility to fill in the gaps,” said Lewington.
MULTIPLE CODE RED SITUATIONS
Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) said the South Zone has seen multiple code red situations this week.
“In this province, we operate on code red every single day, as the city of Edmonton or Calgary draws down all the resources available, pulling in Cochrane’s, pulling in Lethbridge’s, all the way to Calgary to respond to calls now,” said HSAA president Mike Parker.
“That’s what it’s been looking like for months and months now. What that leaves us with is a call volume growth over a 10-year stratus, and no available resources to respond.”
EMS has seen a 30 per cent rise in emergency calls across Alberta over the last several months, as call volumes have reached historic levels.
“It falls directly on the current government, they know what’s going on,” said Parker.
“There’s no hiding it anymore. This is an emergency system that should have the surge capacity needed to counter some of the smaller things. We can’t make it through an average day without calling a code red, and drawing in resources from 100 kilometres away.”
HSAA said they will be providing an update on Monday in regards to the recent code red situations in the South Zone.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.