Province to aid EMS response times with new action plan

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.

In April 2020, the province consolidated EMS dispatch services, hoping to make 911 dispatch services more fiscally efficient, while aiming to improve patient care.

The consolidation of the services left many Albertans concerned with the impact it would have on response times.

Health Minister Jason Copping says he has heard the calls on the government to lessen the response times.

“Alberta’s government has been supportive of EMS throughout the pandemic. As we approach the peak of Omicron cases, we know the EMS system is seeing significant strain, which impacts service. We recognize this is a challenge and are taking immediate steps to improve emergency care access while we explore longer-term solutions.”

Additionally, the province will issue a request for proposals to conduct a third-party review of Alberta’s province-wide EMS dispatch system in February.

Alberta EMS provincial advisory committee:

The committee will include contracted ambulance operators, unions representing paramedics, municipal representatives, and Indigenous community representatives. Members will collaborate, identify concerns, provide advice and inform a new provincial EMS service plan.

Dusty Myshrall, president, of the Alberta Paramedics Association, says he is thankful for AHS listening to residents in the province and the concerns from Albertans.

“The Alberta Paramedic Association is thankful that Health Minister Copping and the Government of Alberta have recognized the urgent need to establish this EMS advisory committee. Through this committee, we’re committed to working together to develop innovative solutions to fix the delivery of EMS, address challenges facing our paramedics and ensure a world-class EMS system for all Albertans, now and into the future.”

Those wanting to view the full video feed of the announcement from Monday can see it at Addressing emergency medical services pressures.

More on the consolidation of EMS dispatch services is below.

by Connor Gunn

Province to aid EMS response times with new action plan

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