CALGARY — Paramedics in Alberta says emergency response times are skyrocketing, as increased demand for EMS services has created a patchwork effort to provide coverage.
Don Sharpe, a Calgary-based paramedic who has worked on the front lines for roughly four decades, says when rural ambulances leave their community, there is no one left to cover the area and available city medics are required to step in.
"When I hear from people I know in these communities that for large portions of the day and night there's nobody there to serve them, I get upset," said Sharpe.
He says the centralized dispatching service has been troubling, with some ambulances being dispatched from as far away as Black Diamond for calls in northwest Calgary, upward of 60 kilometres away.
Sharpe adds there are regions with designated ambulance services that are not required to provide coverage outside their jurisdiction.
"Look to Siksika and the Nakoda. They have agreements with AHS but they don't flex in the city. They don't do calls off the reserve."
Sharpe is a member of a currently nameless grassroots group, comprised of EMS workers and members of the public, calling for the creation of a citizen action committee.
The group believes rural communities would be better served if:
- Rural ambulances remained in their home communities;
- Rural ambulances stopped being dispatched to calls in Calgary, except in very rare circumstances;
- Rural ambulances were no longer used for non-emergency transfers from other districts; and
- Rural EMS crews were not required to sit and wait with patients in emergency room hallways while awaiting beds.
Alberta Health Services says EMS has been doing outreach to communities over the last several months as part of its community engagement strategy.
"AHS has a robust Patient Relations division which is well equipped to hear, evaluate, and respond to any concerns directly with those involved," read a statement from spokesperson Kerry Williamson.
AHS says that although the ambulances may be stationed in one community, they are provincial resources and it does not limit where they can go.
The number of paramedics has also increased in Alberta by nine per cent over the last two years, from 2,659 in 2019 to a current roster of 2,891.
A town hall meeting was held in Cochrane on Tuesday, while Okotoks, Airdrie and Strathmore will welcome concerned citizens including health-care workers at meetings later this week.
AHS officials will not be in attendance at these events.
