According to data obtained by Discover Airdrie via the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (2022-G-219), while there was a month-to-month decrease in non-Inter-facility Airdrie ambulances travelling to Calgary in the past five months, based on total call volume between January and May 2022, Airdrie ambulances are still averaging 48 per cent of their total 9-1-1 call events in Calgary.

Statistics from Alberta Health Services Emergency Medical Services show that the single largest month-to-month drop of Airdrie ambulances travelling to Calgary was between January 2022 and February 2022, during the same time period that the 10-point plan was announced by the province. Total call volume also dropped by nearly 38 per cent between January and February.

Events responded to by Airdrie non-IFT Units (operational responses by event month and by event location) / Unit Service: AHS - Calgary SR / Unit Station Community: Airdrie / Event Stream: 911/ Unit Operational response: Y (FOIP Request: 2022-G-2019)Events responded to by Airdrie non-IFT Units (operational responses by event month and by event location) / Unit Service: AHS - Calgary SR / Unit Station Community: Airdrie / Event Stream: 911/ Unit Operational response: Y (FOIP Request: 2022-G-2019)

In January 2022, Airdrie ambulances responded to 633 events in Calgary, over 65 per cent of their total call volume. By February 2022, the number dropped to 294 9-1-1 responses. Even though Airdrie ambulance halved the number of times they responded to Calgary, when looking at the total call volume for the month of February, Airdrie EMS still averaged nearly 49 per cent of their total calls still in Calgary, even with less call volume than the month previous. 

Conversely, during the same time period, Airdrie EMS responded to 243 calls in Airdrie in January 2022. With a total call volume of 961 emergency calls that month, the city's ambulances spent 25 per cent of their time in Airdrie. In February 2022 there was a drop in calls responded to by Airdrie EMS within the city.

While Airdrie EMS didn't respond as frequently to Calgary in the first two months of 2022, there was a seven per cent increase of 9-1-1 calls in other areas between January and February. That trend steadily increased in the subsequent months, with 138 calls in May, the single largest amount of calls Airdrie ambulances responded to in other areas since the beginning of 2021. The 2022-G-219 FOIP request does not detail which service areas were included. 

The decrease of Airdrie ambulances responding to Calgary slowed later in 2022. From February to March there was a 33 per cent decrease, while March to April saw an increase of Airdrie ambulances travelling to Calgary, approximately 34 per cent. 

Data also shows that Calgary ambulances responding to Airdrie has also increased in 2022. In January 2022, Calgary ambulances responded 107 times. By February there was a drop to 60 responses. However, since February 2022, the numbers have steadily increased. Between March and April of 2022, there was a nearly 30 per cent increase of Calgary ambulances responding to emergencies in Airdrie, while April to May saw a 45 per cent increase. 

911 events in the city of Airdrie (Operationa responses by month and by unit station) / Event location: Airdrie / Event Stream: 911 (FOIP: 2022-G-219)911 events in the city of Airdrie (Operational responses by month and by unit station) / Event location: Airdrie / Event Stream: 911 (FOIP: 2022-G-219)

Ambulance response times in the city of Airdrie were also provided in the data, however, it is not possible to discern where an ambulance was responding from to the 9-1-1 event in Airdrie. Since the inception of the 10-point plan, response times have followed an erratic pattern of increasing one month and decreasing the next month. However, in comparing a Charlie emergency in January 2022, the maximum response time was over 45 minutes, while in February that time increased to nearly an hour. While the response time did decrease the subsequent month, by May 2022 it was nearly 45 minutes again. The average response times for Charlie events did not change significantly.  

The maximum response time for a Delta emergency, one of the gravest emergencies, the response was 22 minutes in January 2022, that time nearly doubled in February with a 50-minute response time. In May 2022, the response time clocked in at 41 minutes. Maximum response times for Echo events increased in April 2022 from January (no data was given for February), with a maximum response time of 17 and-a-half minutes. The single longest response time between January and May 2022 occurred in February 2022 for a Bravo event. The maximum response time was an hour. 

foip

On Thursday, July 21, Alberta Health Services, Airdrie's Urgent Care Centre will be temporarily closed overnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings from 10 P.M. until 7 A.M. the following mornings starting July 22 for approximately eight weeks due to gaps in physician coverage. 

"Patients presenting to the Urgent Care Centre during the closure will be assessed, triaged and referred to alternative sites or to local medical clinics for follow-up depending on their needs. EMS will transport patients to nearby facilities as necessary. All efforts to secure coverage have been exhausted," AHS stated.

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