Special council meeting called to send complaint about ambulance dispatch consolidation

Sep 24, 2021 | 2:41 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Members of Lethbridge City Council have one last chance to do something about 911 EMS dispatch services being consolidated.

Mayor Chris Spearman has called for a Special Meeting of Council to be held on Monday, September 27 to discuss the following item:

City of Lethbridge Participation – Complaint to the Alberta Ombudsman Regarding the Decision by Alberta Health Services on the Consolidation of the Ambulance Emergency Dispatch System

AHS first announced plans back in August 2020 to transition the four municipally-run contracted satellite dispatch sites in Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer, and the Municipality of Wood Buffalo into the three centralized dispatch centres.

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It has certainly been a controversial decision as the impacted mayors, as well as first responders, in these communities have been vocally opposed to it.

The rationale from AHS was that consolidation would save over $6-million annually. According to the mayors, however, it is actually costing more.

In Lethbridge, for example, firefighters are dually trained as paramedics and consolidation has resulted in a loss of efficiency. As well, local officials say much of the cost has been simply downloaded from the province to the municipalities.

Another concern is that the system could result in longer ambulance response times.

Despite the mayors’ best efforts, 911 EMS dispatch consolidation went ahead of January 12, 2021.

There are no more regular city council meetings scheduled before the 2021 municipal elections, so Monday’s special meeting is likely the last opportunity for the current council to do anything about it.

by David Opinko