Local union president raises concerns over 911 EMS dispatch services consolidation

“The current process is [that] a 911 caller calls 911, they get a dispatcher right there in Number One Station [in Lethbridge] on the third floor, and they can dispatch whatever service is required within the city of Lethbridge, whether it’s EMS, fire, police or both,” he said.

“Our protocols are set up so that fire and EMS quite often co-respond on more life-threatening situations, so it’s very easy for that one dispatcher to create the call.”

Nelson explained how EMS calls will work once the transition to the dispatch centres outside of Lethbridge is complete.

“When the call comes in, the 911 caller will still get a municipal dispatcher here. They will ask what services they need – police, fire or EMS. If they say EMS, they [local dispatcher] have to transfer that call to an AHS 911 dispatcher, which is going to be in Calgary. That dispatcher will dispatch one of the ambulances, and at this time it is still a Lethbridge Fire Department unit that is being contracted to AHS EMS. So, they’re going to be dispatching one of our own units to the location in our area,” he said.

“Now if that EMS unit requires fire or police, a good example would be somebody just not feeling well, they get there [and] we have little alarms on our kits in case it’s carbon monoxide. Their alarm goes off [and] they need fire [department response], they have to contact the municipal 911 [dispatch centre], who then will dispatch fire.”

Nelson said if the method did not change, the local 911 dispatcher could screen the call, realize it’s not solely an EMS call and dispatch police or firefighters right away.

“One of the big issues that we have with this as well is that the connection between the 911 dispatcher and the AHS dispatcher and the EMS back to the municipal 911 dispatcher is going to rely on technology, so, [using] computer systems and integrated systems that sometimes fail,” Nelson said.

“We do already have a computer system [where] they can talk to each other but it’s not always dependable, so when that goes down, it’s going to be back to an old phone call and will have to go through all the information again to be shared.”

Another issue revolves around area familiarity.

Some officials have voiced concerns that a dispatcher in Calgary won’t know exactly where to send an ambulance if a call comes from a local spot, such as Henderson Park in Lethbridge.

“AHS EMS do not know the location of our fire resources. They also don’t have live tracking of our fire resources, so they won’t know where they are in the city and often our fire resources are the closest ones,” Nelson said, adding local firefighters are trained in advanced life support and can provide assistance at a scene before an ambulance arrives.

Firefighters are often the first responders on scene. Nelson said the consolidation could potentially result in response time delays.

According to Alberta Health Services, the consolidation would save around $6 million per year.

Nelson’s full presentation to SACPA can be seen below.

(Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs on YouTube)

by Justin Goulet

Local union president raises concerns over 911 EMS dispatch services consolidation

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