Ambulance -- LNN

By Connor Gunn

Mayor “disappointed” following EMS consolidation meeting with Shandro

Sep 25, 2020 | 3:48 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB– Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman met with Alberta’s Minister of Health Tyler Shandro, along with the Mayors of Calgary, Red Deer, and Wood Buffalo, to talk about the consolidation of Alberta’s EMS dispatch service.

The service will now become centralized, which means it will take longer for EMS to get to any emergency scene across the province.

Spearman said he was “disappointed” with the outcome – after the meeting was over.

He says Shandro assured him the province would look into the consolidation decision, but immediately after the meeting, the Health Minister sent out a news release stating the opposite.

Spearman added that there was “mixed-messaging” throughout the meeting, compared to what the release said.

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An incident happened recently that Spearman says could have been avoided.

“There was an incident at Henderson Lake Park where someone collapsed, they were unconscious and the people called 9-1-1, and when it was answered they asked where are you? They said Henderson Lake Park and the dispatcher said “What city is that?”

When they said Lethbridge, the dispatcher asked for a physical address? Those types of responses delay a serious incident.”

Spearman said he wants to be partners with this issue and that something can be sorted out.

“Let’s keep what’s working.”

MLA for Lethbridge-East, Nathan Neudorf, said upon hearing of the news to consolidate the EMS dispatch service, that he will continue to work with Shandro, to look at a compromise for the service.

“Having Lethbridge retain its integrated EMS dispatch is something I have had a number of conversations with the Minister of Health about and will continue to do so.

In my experience, public confrontation and demands are the least effective form of resolution and negotiation.”

Neudorf says he remains optimistic that there is a solution that can “encompass both things in the best service possible.”

Read more: The NDP says the UCP need to cancel this consolidation