It has been just under a year since reports of problems with the local EMS service came out and now an EMS worker said an already sick system is only getting sicker.
There were concerns from the beginning when the Province took over ambulance services, particularly in the foothills, where complaints were few with the Foothills Regional Emergency Services (FREMS) and praise was high.
However, when the Province amalgamated the service in 2009 problems emerged, particularly with the centralized dispatch service. MD councillors and residents spoke out last spring about slow response times and now a year later an EMS employee is saying the new system doesn’t benefit the foothills.
In 2009, the Province began taking over regional ambulance services and is now responsible for just over half of the services in the province. Dispatch was centralized in three locations and in the foothills the service was moved from Black Diamond to Calgary. Complaints that dispatch was not directing drivers efficiently to rural addresses abounded and a GPS system rolled out in 2010 hasn’t eliminated all the problems as hoped.
The Province said the system has removed boundaries between regions, allowing ambulance drivers to be used where they are need.
A whistleblower told the Western Wheel last week that locally ambulances are posted close to Calgary to allow them to respond if they are the closest to they city. The effect, according to the source, is the possibility of lowering response time in the city to a goal of eight minutes, while foothills residents have to wait longer for an ambulance. As long as 20 to 30 minutes, says the concerned employee.
The problems with ambulance shortages in Calgary have been well-publicized and have focused on ambulances tied up for long periods of time at hospital emergency rooms.
The Province’s move to amalgamate ambulance now looks like it was actually a decision to find a solution for cities and now outlying communities are paying the price.
Last week Health and Wellness Minister Fred Horne announced the Health Quality Council will look into problems being raised across the Province, including poor communication between management and workers, the centralized dispatch problems and worker shortages. It’s about time because it’s been almost a year since then Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky promised MD councillors the issue would be looked at.
The Province needs to think like an ambulance driver and respond to this emergency.
