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"A decade with no investment in EMS and the massive amount of people waiting for care due to delayed procedures and diagnosis means that what could have been preventative care is becoming a health emergency and overwhelming our incredibly stretched ambulance service." — Mike Parker, HSAA President and advanced care paramedic
Edmonton (22 Nov. 2021) — Delegates attending the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association's (AUMA) annual convention have endorsed a resolution directing its Board to advocate for the Government of Alberta to immediately consult with municipalities and Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA/NUPGE) to develop a plan to make urgently needed improvements to the delivery and performance of the ambulance system.
Partnership seeks to fix broken ambulance service
"As we have seen throughout the pandemic, municipalities are providing leadership where the UCP government has failed to act. On behalf of our members, we applaud AUMA for taking the initiative to address another crisis of health care," said Mike Parker, HSAA President and advanced care paramedic. "HSAA/NUPGE members are the paramedics that respond when people call for help. We are the experts, and we are eager to partner with AUMA to fix this problem."
Recently, Calgary, and the communities surrounding it were hit by rolling red alerts (no ambulance available to respond). The wave of red alerts hit Calgary, Didsbury, Carstairs, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Black Diamond, High River, Priddis, Chestermere, Canmore, Banff and Olds.
Red alerts also impacted Medicine Hat and Wheatland County, including Strathmore. Medicine Hat, Olds and Linden, which were each already down an ambulance, due to a lack of paramedics.
Critical investment needed to ensure services available
"A decade with no investment in EMS and the massive amount of people waiting for care due to delayed procedures and diagnosis means that what could have been preventative care is becoming a health emergency and overwhelming our incredibly stretched ambulance service," Parker concluded. "The only solution that will bring immediate change is to invest in more paramedics and fill the over 1,000 vacancies for health care professionals across the province.