Province adding new EMS supports to improve response times

Officials say the funding boost also supports implementing Health Care Action Plan priorities and recommendations made by the Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee to improve EMS response and the work culture for EMS staff.

The government says Alberta has the best front-line health care workers in the world, and Budget 2023 is expected to put the right supports in place to ensure Albertans get the care they need, when and where they need it.

“Budget 2023 delivers the needed support to the front line and adds more resources to implement the Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee recommendations,” added RJ Sigurdson, parliamentary secretary, EMS Reform. “The additional funding will help ease worker fatigue and provide more mental health supports to improve the work environment for all EMS staff.”

Adding EMS staff and more ambulances

To improve EMS response time, government officials say Budget 2023 invests in adding staff and boosting the number of ambulances on the road. The funding increase will add EMS crews to staff 10 more ambulances in Edmonton, 10 in Calgary, one in Lethbridge and one in Red Deer during peak hours this year.

As part of the ongoing work to improve the central dispatch system and implement the EMS advisory committee’s recommendations, Alberta’s government says it will provide more than $1.5 million to hire and train additional staff and conduct a review of EMS available resources and how they are used in communities.

Supporting EMS workforce

The government says front-line staff and community partners asked for more supports to create better work environments, as reflected in the provincial advisory committee’s recommendations. Officials say Budget 2023 delivers funding to improve scheduling practices to allow for more breaks, more flexibility in the length of shifts and opportunities to take time off, in addition to providing for more training and development opportunities.

According to government officials, nearly $1 million will go towards boosting mental health supports for EMS staff across the province. A $3-million investment is expected to address paramedic fatigue in rural communities by adjusting work hours and shift schedules as part of the AHS EMS hours of work initiative.

“This funding increase enables aggressive action on our priority of improving emergency response times,” stated Mauro Chies, president and CEO, Alberta Health Services. “We will hire more staff, increase hours of ambulance capacity, expand partnerships with other community supports and deliver innovative projects. This is about getting Albertans the care they need, where and when they need it.”

EMS-811 shared response, inter-facility transfers and treat and refer

Provincial officials say Alberta’s Health Care Action Plan is helping to speed up EMS response times and free up highly trained paramedics from non-emergency calls and transfers. Additional funding is said to be earmarked for the EMS-811 Shared Response program that transfers calls from Albertans with non-urgent conditions to registered nurses with Health Link.

All these actions are hoped to reduce EMS response time by empowering paramedics to focus efforts on urgent calls and diverting them away from situations when their level of care is not medically required.

Medical first response supports in rural communities

Medical first responders provide life-saving care in rural and remote communities until an ambulance arrives, officials point out. The government says Budget 2023 invests in supporting medical first response and implementing the EMS provincial advisory committee’s recommendations to add capacity and provide additional training and equipment.

Provincial officials say Budget 2023 secures Alberta’s future by transforming the health care system to meet people’s needs, supporting Albertans with the high cost of living, keeping communities safe and driving the economy with more jobs, quality education and continued diversification.

Alberta government quick facts

In 2023-24, Alberta’s government is providing $723 million in operating funds for EMS, an increase of $138 million to support EMS priority actions, including:

$47 million for additional EMS capacity to put more ambulances on the road, hire additional paramedics and emergency communications officers, and create dedicated inter-facility transfer capacity in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer.
$24 million for recruitment and workforce initiatives and supports, including training programs and mental health supports for front-line staff.
$24 million to continue initiatives that were implemented last year such as 19 additional ambulances in Calgary and Edmonton, and enhanced scheduling changes made in high-priority stations around the province to reduce paramedic fatigue.
$21 million for ground ambulance contract changes, increased mileage and fuel, including for air ambulance/air ambulance supports and other operational pressures from the increase in the number of events.
$7 million to support strategies to enhance the EMS system, such as enhancements to the medical first response program, public education and response, and a review of the ground ambulance resource allocation policies and capacity.
Almost $7 million to support other initiatives such as clinical improvement initiatives like expanding the vital health response program to the south zone, which will make it possible for paramedics to provide life-saving heart medication in the event of a heart attack, and expanding the mobile integrated heart program to support community paramedics across the province.
$3 million for the EMS-811 Shared Response program.
$3 million for other initiatives related to implementing recommendations.
$2 million for a project related to air ambulances.
Budget 2023 provides $196 million in new EMS funding over three years to hire more staff, put more ambulances on the road and implement recommendations made by the EMS advisory committee and the EMS Dispatch Review Report.
In addition, $15 million over three years will fund a new capital program to purchase more ambulances and related equipment.

David Shepherd, Alberta NDP Critic for Health, made the following statement in response:

“Another hasty pre-election announcement doesn’t repair the years of damage Danielle Smith and the UCP have done to our ambulance system.

“After four years under the UCP, Albertans continue to wait longer than ever for ambulances to arrive. Paramedics remain exhausted, burnt-out, and under excruciating pressure. Crews are still frequently stuck at overwhelmed emergency rooms, unable to transfer their patients for hours on end when they should be home with their families.

“An Alberta NDP government will end the UCP chaos in healthcare by connecting a million more Albertans with a family doctor and a Family Health Team, and launching the largest healthcare recruitment campaign in our province’s history.”

by rdnewsNOW Staff