Mayors want province to reinstate local EMS dispatch service
By Lethbridge Herald on May 1, 2023.
An ambulance sits parked out in front of the bays at the downtown fire headquarters. Provincial mayors are advocating a return to local dispatch of Emergency Medical Services.
Herald file photoAl Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Mayor Blaine Hyggen is among provincial mayors advocating a return to local dispatch of Emergency Medical Services.
The province two years ago transitioned EMS dispatch from Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and mayors want local dispatch returned for “a stable and integrated service.”
A release sent to media Monday says “regional monitoring shows consistent data that substantiates original claims that centralized EMS dispatch has resulted in a degradation of service to Albertans.
Trends identified to Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services in April of 2021 are still current today, and include:
• Addressing errors or delays (verifying the address of the emergency)
• Delay in Medical First Response Dispatch (Fire Department Assist)
• Critical safety alerts not issued for EMS crew safety
• Deviations in Medical Priority Dispatch System Protocol.”
The release says the four regions represent 43 per cent of Alberta in numbers of residents served.
It adds “each of the dismantled satellite EMS dispatch centers are cross-trained 9-1-1 call takers, and both fire and medical dispatchers and are fully capable of providing services to Albertans within the Alberta Health Services EMS dispatch system.
“First responders from Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Wood Buffalo have consistently stated that EMS dispatch belongs within our local 911 systems to ensure that all calls receive an integrated response. In the past, Calgary received global accolades for the integrated nature of our response to emergency calls and we urge the province to reinstate this successful model.”
“The safety of our residents is our number one priority which is why we continue to advocate for improvements to the EMS dispatch system. We’ve proven that we can safely and effectively operate dispatch at a local level and be more efficient with our emergency services resources at the same time. It makes the most sense for the wellbeing of our residents and our first responders,” says Hyggen in the release.
Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek is quoted as saying “first responders from Calgary, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Wood Buffalo have consistently stated that EMS dispatch belongs within our local 911 systems, to ensure that all calls receive an integrated response. In the past, Calgary received global accolades for the integrated nature of our response to emergency calls and we urge the Province to reinstate this successful model.”
15-14
This is yet another example of how the UCP did not listen/hear, the concerns of the local folks about their concerns re: this transition change of the dispatch system. So now, the concerns have come to pass. The AB NDP would certainly get this fixed. How one votes in the upcoming election is key.
After voting for over 50 years I have learned important lesson . . . never believe any election promises! All levels of government have been proven to mislead the electorate by making campaign promises that are rarely kept.
We all want EMS dispatch services back in our city, but bringing the matter up during a campaign is futile. I watch the first 2 years of goverment and observe what promises were kept and their performance after seeing a greater incidence of broken campaign promises in the last 2 decades . . . sad, but true!
Many of us fought to stop the central dispatch plans, while most of society stood back thinking ‘it it what it is’ . . . . in my opinion, Minister Shandro destroyed many areas of healthcare, angering doctors so they moved to other provinces, or in my personal case, my doctor moved back to South Africa after been treated poorly here. I will retain my thoughts on how I feel about that Minister, but he also caused turmoil in his next portfolio as well.
After saying that . . . the NDP destroyed our city by forcing the SCS on us and refusing to acknowledge the damage it did or the increased deaths it caused in the area and the UCP was the government who shut down the killing machine. If COVID hadn’t come along during this period we would have seen the decrease in fatal overdoses, with many that occurred within blocks of the SCS after they left the SAFE consumption site . . . it failed! One even died in the parking lot after leaving. COVID caused fatal overdoses to rise across North America for several reasons, borders closed making it difficult for smugglers, isolation so less oversight when someone used, depression to some just gave up and intentionally overdosed, etc. . .
In my mind there is no good choice where to place my vote, but I will vote and it will not be the NDP!