Alberta launches EMS advisory committee & action plan to relieve service pressures

“As representatives in smaller communities In both the north and south of the province, MLA Sigurdson and Allard will provide a strong local perspective in leading the committee’s work.”

The committee will also include contracted ambulance operators, unions representing paramedics, municipal representatives, and Indigenous community representatives.

“Having all these voices at the table is important,” Copping stated. “I’ve tasked this committee to identify concerns, provide advice, and contribute to EMS service planning as we work to ensure EMS sustainability now and into the future.”

Copping mentioned the committee is set to provide their initial recommendations on EMS services across Alberta in May 2022.

However, he explained the committee will make changes and test new solutions before their initial recommendations in May.

“If there’s a need for more funding to put improvements in place, we will examine those opportunities as they arrive,” he said.

“Additionally, we will be putting out a request for proposal for a third party to conduct an objective review of the EMS dispatch system. We believe that an outside group of experienced health system experts will be able to identify further opportunities to address ongoing pressures and improve effectiveness and efficiencies on how the dispatch system works.”

Additionally, a 10-point action plan from the provincial government has also been introduced in an effort to maximize the existing EMS system capacity.

The province said five actions of the 10 actions are currently 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 to come as announced by the province include:

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.

With files from Connor Gunn, LethbridgeNewsNow, Staff

by Abby Zieverink

Alberta launches EMS advisory committee & action plan to relieve service pressures

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