By rdnewsNOW Staff

Red Deer With A Seat At The Table

Red Deer mayor and council pleased by announcement of third-party review of ambulance dispatch

Jan 24, 2022 | 4:38 PM

Red Deer Mayor Ken Johnston issued the following statement Monday regarding the Alberta government’s announcement of an advisory committee being created to address emergency medical services pressures in the province.

“Today, the Government of Alberta announced tactics to address the many stresses, strains and pressures facing the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in our province.

In response to the demand and incredible difficulties that our emergency medical services are facing day in and day out in Alberta, today’s announcement by the province highlighted several immediate and long-term recommendations that will inform a new provincial EMS service plan.

One part of the provincial 10-point plan is to issue a request for proposals to conduct a third-party review of Alberta’s province-wide EMS dispatch system in February. The review is said to provide further opportunities to address ongoing pressures, improve effectiveness and efficiency through best practices, and provide the best outcomes for Albertans who call 911 during a medical event.

Since the announcement was made on August 4, 2020 to consolidate emergency ambulance dispatch in Red Deer and in the surrounding communities that the Red Deer 911 Emergency Communication Centre serves, The City of Red Deer, along with the municipalities of Calgary, Lethbridge and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, have been strongly advocating to the Government of Alberta and the Minister of Health to reverse the decision.

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The City of Red Deer has been calling, with support of many in our province, for a third-party external review of the EMS dispatch system to be conducted that would provide recommendations to improve Alberta’s emergency services. And today, that call was answered.

City Council and I are thankful to hear that the Minister of Health is committed to making our emergency system more sustainable for the future, through this, and other tactics mentioned today. We are also pleased to have a seat at the table for the provincial emergency medical services advisory committee via our Chief of Emergency Services, Ken McMullen.

Other items in the 10-point plan that relate to our local operations will need to be further reviewed, but we are optimistic about the changes that are on the horizon, and the attention that this life-changing matter is receiving for our city and all Albertans.”

Related: Council discusses additional tactics in fight for local ambulance dispatch