Commentaries on ambulance service issues were released by Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie and Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung on Feb. 16.

MLA Guthrie went into detail on what is being done by the province and provided an overview of his discussions with medics.

Among the recommendations was to pair resources with population growth. Guthrie added a caveat, stating municipal governments pursuing aggressive growth need to pay particular attention to the need for public services like fire, EMS, policing, and primary care physicians.

"The province does not develop a municipality's growth plan, so councils should recognize the circumstances, as they had a hand in creating this environment, and work in partnership with the province for improved outcomes," says Guthrie.

In the video, Guthrie calls the province's 10-point plan (found at the end of this article) a good starting point. 

Guthrie says medics told him staff dissatisfaction is a major concern. To improve morale, Alberta Health Services needs to deal with burnout, improve the work environment, and allow for more feedback from frontline staff.

He says there are too many managers and supervisors, wasteful spending, and inefficiencies that need to be addressed.

Medics told him improved public education and awareness are required on 911. They said 811, designed to provide advice and general health information, has proven to be ineffective and needs to be retooled.

Guthrie says hospital triage has been an issue for years and wasn't specifically addressed in the 10-point plan. He suspects it will be discussed by the EMS advisory committee currently being formed.

"That particular issue is a hospital issue, it's not EMS's issue. EMS is highlighting that, and is wanting AHS in their hospital settings to be able to deal with that. I'm expecting it to be one of the key suggestions that come out of that group."

"Medics are being held up at the hospital, sometimes for their entire shift. Getting the ambulance back on the road as quickly as possible should be paramount."

He says it has been suggested that medics be stationed at the hospitals to assume responsibility for patients transferred from ambulances. Another option is to assign a physician or nurse practitioner to emergency rooms.

"A nurse or a medic do not have the authority to treat or discharge, so with this structure, people with minor ailments can be dealt with quickly, which would significantly reduce loads."

He questions why AHS implemented a mandatory vaccination policy when service delivery and capacity issues were already straining from a 30-35 per cent increase in calls in 2021.

"I can't wrap my head around the fact that dedicated employees who had served the public for years and throughout the pandemic were suddenly deemed unfit to work and placed on the firing line in a time of great need."

He supports the use of private resources to assist in restoring service levels.

mayor_genungCochrane Mayor Jeff Genung issued a call to action by residents in a video released today.

Guthrie continues to encourage people to reach out to his office with their ideas and says the feedback and support have been appreciated.

Hours later, Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung released a video that is a call to action for Albertans to lobby their MLAs and Health minister for improvements.

Mayor Genung stressed EMS issues in the major centres, including Calgary, need to be addressed to take pressure off the surrounding communities.

He says EMS has not kept pace with the population growth in the region and is not providing adequate service.

He says town council was told loud and clear by Randy Bryksa, associate executive director in the Calgary Zone, to apply pressure on the province.

Genung is encouraging Albertans to contact their MLAs and Health minister Jason Copping.

"Today, really a call to action. The system is broken. We need you to help us to ask the province to fix it."

MLA Guthrie says during town council's Feb. 7 meeting with Bryksa it was implied the town is subsidizing AHS through its fire services.

 "The administration of Cochrane, his own administration, did not support that notion, and yet he's out after the fact perpetuating a false narrative. I don't think that's fair to EMS. They deserve an opportunity to implement this plan, and then report back, as they said that they would."

Alberta Health Services’ 10-point plan
Five actions are already underway:

  • Hiring more paramedics.
  • Launching pilot projects to manage non-emergency inter-facility transfers.
  • Initiating an ‘hours of work’ project to help ease staff fatigue.
  • Transferring low-priority calls to other agencies in consultation with EMS physicians.
  • Stopping the automatic dispatch of ambulances to motor vehicle collisions that don’t have injuries.

Five additional actions are to come:

  • Creating a new integrated operations centre in Calgary, bringing paramedic leads and hospital staff together to improve integration, movement of resources, and flow of patients.
  • Evaluation by an emergency communications officer to determine if an ambulance from out of the area, though it may be closest to a 911 call, is most appropriate to respond.
  • Implementing a pilot project in Red Deer that will manage most patient transfers between facilities with dedicated transfer units, freeing up ambulances to handle emergency calls.
  • Allowing ambulances to be pre-empted from assignments, instead of being automatically dispatched when a 911 call is received, to ensure more ambulances are available for critical patients.
  • Developing a strategic provincial service plan for EMS delivery in the province.
     

Additionally, the province has issued a request for proposals to conduct a third-party review of Alberta’s provincewide EMS dispatch system. The objective review by external health system experts will provide further opportunities to address ongoing pressures, improve effectiveness and efficiency through best practices, and provide the best outcomes for Albertans who call 911 during a medical event.

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