(rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

"worst fears realized"

Mayor not letting up fight for local EMS dispatch service

Feb 8, 2021 | 5:05 PM

Since a press conference held with three other mayors last week, Tara Veer says there have been more “absolutely staggering” examples proving that EMS dispatch consolidation is not in the best interest of Albertans.

“They’ve caused our worst fears to be realized,” says Red Deer’s mayor, who along with Calgary’s Naheed Nenshi, Lethbridge’s Chris Spearman, and Wood Buffalo’s Don Scott, has begged the provincial government for several months to overturn an AHS decision to consolidate dispatch.

The change came into effect Jan. 12 despite the four municipalities offering in early December to pay out of their own pockets to keep service the way it was.

On Feb. 1, the mayors excoriated AHS and the decision to consolidate while outlining a Jan. 26 outage at the South Communications Centre they said lasted 72 minutes.

Alberta’s Chief Paramedic Darren Sandbeck said the outage lasted just 42 minutes and claimed not only that the mayors’ statements were inaccurate, but that no evidence exists to suggest consolidation has caused errors or delays in service.

excellence

Ponoka waste transfer station earns award

1h ago

Mentorship program

Red Deer Catholic 'Ment-To-Matter' program expands to Sylvan Lake

5h ago

Nov. 28

Workshop coming to Red Deer for cow-calf producers on data literacy

Nov 22, 2024

The same day, the four mayors sent a letter addressed to Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro.

To date, Veer says, there’s been no response from the Premier’s Office to either their December proposal or the most recent letter.

rdnewsNOW also contacted the Premier’s Office that day. Our request was forwarded to the Health Ministry who told us to refer to the AHS presser with Sandbeck.

“The circularity of response I think speaks to the lack of clear accountability on this file. Our front-line emergency crews seek answers from AHS and don’t get them, so local elected officials have sought for information and appealed to other provincially elected officials,” Veer says. “They’ll route us back to Chief Sandbeck and then he says to contact AHS through the proper channels, which we already have.”

Veer calls Sandbeck’s remarks unacceptable.

rdnewsNOW reached out to both of Red Deer’s MLAs for their thoughts on the issue. Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan did not reply. Red Deer-North MLA Adriana LaGrange said in a statement that she always advocates for her constituents in every way possible.

“I respect Mayor Veer’s concerns and have addressed them when possible. In fact, since Minister Shandro met with the mayors of the four effected communities on September 24, 2020, I have met with Mayor Veer on a number of occasions to listen to her concerns,” says LaGrange. “I have every confidence that AHS will ensure a smooth transition and will continue to address the needs and concerns of Central Albertans.”

LaGrange added, “As Minister Shandro explained in his letter to the mayors on October 16, 2020, AHS has dispatched ambulances for 60 per cent of Albertans since 2009. Integrating dispatch with the overall EMS system will align the four remaining cities with best practices in the rest of Alberta, other provinces, and other countries like the UK. Every dollar saved on the current dispatch contracts will be reinvested into improving ground ambulance services.”

Despite Veer’s testimony, LaGrange says AHS has responded to claims of problems that have reportedly taken place since consolidation took effect, referencing Sandbeck’s comments to media on Feb. 1.

“That response was unsatisfactory and does not reflect the experiences our front-line responders and patients are encountering,” says Veer, who acknowledges LaGrange’s efforts to share the City’s position with her provincial counterparts.

“My office has requested that our local MLAS, as well as other regional MLAs, have a technical debriefing with our Emergency Services chief so that they understand — using real examples that have occurred since consolidation took place — the failures of it thus far.”

To ensure patient confidentiality, details of more recent incidents can’t yet be shared.

Veer reiterated, “The city fundamentally disagrees in principle that the consolidated dispatch system is best practice when we know that integrated emergency response is the best practice. Anything short of that is a degradation of emergency response.

“This needs to be rectified before there are any further consequences.”