(AHS)

By Connor Gunn/LethbridgeNewsNOW

10 Point Plan

Province to aid EMS response times with new action plan

Jan 24, 2022 | 3:25 PM

EDMONTON, AB – An action plan from the Alberta Government will attempt to lessen Emergency Response Times.

The government statement reads:

“In response to growing demand for EMS services across Alberta, the government is launching a provincial emergency medical services advisory committee to provide immediate and long-term recommendations that will inform a new provincial EMS service plan.”

AHS will roll out its 10-point plan to quickly add capacity to EMS.

Alberta Health Services’ 10-point plan:

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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.”

NDP Health Critic David Shepherd issued the following statement in response to the government’s comments on emergency medical services:

“Today’s comments from the UCP on the crisis they created in Alberta’s ambulance system offered no transparency, no targets, no timelines, and no accountability.

“For months, paramedics, healthcare workers, and the official opposition have been raising the alarm to the UCP on how dire the situation among our EMS system was becoming.

“In November, Jason Kenney told Albertans in the Legislature that the situation was improving, when he must have known it was actually getting much worse.

“Albertan’s can’t trust the UCP to be truthful and transparent with information, so I’m very concerned that the government gave no indication of their plans to publicly report Red Alert information as we have called on them to do so.

“This crisis has been growing for some time, and it’s unacceptable that the UCP are so far behind on addressing it.”

“It is long past time an Alberta government got to work on solving the EMS crisis in Alberta,” reads a statement from Mike Parker, President, Health Sciences Association of Alberta. “Our advocacy to expose the state of EMS by reporting red alerts has made the need for action clear.

“HSAA has been asked to come to the table to come up with solutions. As the experts in the delivery of emergency medical services we are more than willing to get to work.

“However, to be clear, HSAA will not be recommending or supportive of any privatization efforts.

“My focus throughout this process will be the health of Albertans and ensuring care is there when they need it. Every dollar needs to be spent on patient care – not profits for private contractors.”

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

(With files from rdnewsNOW)