Code Critical: P.E.I. ambulance contract needs a second look

There appears little doubt that a major review is needed of the contract to provide ambulance services in this province.

Before 2006, the ambulance service was delivered by four operators throughout the province. The Progressive Conservative government of Pat Binns decided to centralize ambulance services and Medavie won the contract which began in April of 2006.

That same contract is still in place with only minor changes 15 years and three premiers later. It would be unrealistic to expect a change in the ambulance operator periodically. Providing the service is highly specialized and the decision to go to a province-wide service effectively shuts out any potential smaller operators.

Conditions change over time and a contract that essentially becomes a roll-over does little to address that. One of the major challenges facing the operator right now is a shortage of trained workers. Labour shortages are a fact of life in virtually every profession as the number of people leaving the workforce is great than those starting their working lives. Those shortages become magnified in a sector like health care where such deficiencies can literally cost people their lives.

Green Party MLAs have taken to promoting a program called Code Critical that was started by the paramedics union in Nova Scotia. The ambulance service in that province is also centralized and run by a division of Medavie. Code Critical is designed to let people know when ambulances in their area are understaffed or not available.

Mermaid-Stratford MLA Michele Beaton wants a similar service started here. Several times during the current legislative session, she has pointed out the report that would be available on P.E.I. if the service was established. The first time she indicated there were no ambulances available on a particular day and the second time was to inform residents of Prince County the nearest ambulance was in Cardigan.

Beaton claims part of the problem is a shortage of advanced care paramedics, who are trained to stabilize injured or ill people for transport to hospitals. She said the contract calls for one advanced care paramedic in each ambulance. Matt Crossman, who is vice-president of operations with Medavie, told Saltwire Network the company has six staff members training to become advanced care paramedics and is trying to recruit more.

Crossman also disputed Beaton's contention that there are no penalties provided in the contract for not meeting targets related to both staffing and response times.

It is somewhat understandable that the contract was extended during COVID as the focus of the health system was clearly elsewhere. Now the government must ensure the ambulance system is as efficient as possible. That doesn't necessarily mean signing on with a new provider but it does mean the contract reflects the current health care reality and there are penalties associated for both sides if the terms of the contract are not met.

While it is probably fair to say that most days, the majority of Islanders probably don't think about ambulance response times. The reality, however, is that on any given day it could be the only thing that matters for you or a family member.