Budget 2022 boosts EMS capacity

CONTRIBUTED

A significant increase in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) funding will put more ambulances on the street and improve response times.

The $64-million, or 12.2 per cent, increase will help EMS respond to high demand and stress on staff and includes:

• $28 million to add more ground ambulances and crews, in addition to sustainable funding for helicopter air ambulance services

• $22 million to increase capacity, extend ground ambulance contracts and support integrated operations centres and interfacility transports projects

$14 million for the “hours of work” initiative, to address crew fatigue

Alberta Health Services (AHS) is also making rapid progress implementing a 10-point plan to add EMS capacity and ensure the most critical patients receive immediate care. That includes adding ambulances and staff, and launching initiatives to keep suburban ambulances in their home communities more often.

“EMS has been experiencing historic call volume and staffing pressures and we’re taking action by significantly increasing EMS funding to improve capacity and access. We’re committed to making sure EMS has the resources they need, and I thank all paramedics and EMS support staff for stepping up throughout the pandemic and continuing to be there when we need them,” explained Jason Copping, Minister of Health.

“This additional funding will allow us to add more ground ambulances and crews, which will help us better serve Alberta patients. This investment will also allow us to move forward immediately with some of the key initiatives of our 10-point plan, including the Calgary integrated operations centre and a pilot project related to inter-facility transfers,” added Darren Sandbeck, chief paramedic and senior provincial director, Alberta Health Services.

Additional ambulances

Adding ambulances will help meet high demand and improve response times.

• Edmonton and Calgary will both receive five 24-7 ambulances in each of the next two fiscal years – a total of 20.

• Both Lethbridge and Red Deer will see ambulance hours increase by 12 hours per day in each of the next two fiscal years.

AHS 10-point plan progress

The majority of the 10 points announced in January are now implemented and beginning to show results. AHS has hired 66 staff and recruitment continues.

As part of the Metro Response Plan that rolled out in early February, nine communities have seen a drop in ambulances being called to neighbouring urban centres: Strathcona County, St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Leduc, Beaumont, Calmar, Josephburg, Airdrie and Cochrane. For example, trips from Beaumont to Edmonton dropped by almost 50 per cent and trips from Airdrie to Calgary are down by 43 per cent.

Response to high-priority events has also improved following the launch of the pre-empt and divert initiative at the end of February. In one instance, a rural ambulance was diverted from a low-priority call to a high-priority cardiac call and the ambulance arrived within minutes.

Progress will continue to be monitored as the 10-point plan is implemented.

Hours of work initiative

A total of $14 million will support Alberta Health Services’ EMS Hours of Work project, which involves adjusting working hours, shifts and scheduling to lessen fatigue among paramedics in 14 rural communities: Fort Macleod, Bassano, Two Hills, Castor, Drumheller, Lamont, Slave Lake, Wainwright, Canmore, Boyle, Vermilion, Drayton Valley, Valleyview, and St. Paul.

Inter-facility transports

Budget 2022 provides funding to support an AHS pilot project in Red Deer to manage non-emergency patient transfers between facilities through dedicated central transfer units. This would free up ambulances to handle more emergency calls.

The additional funding will also add more non-emergency transport capacity in Calgary, expanding on a successful trial at Calgary’s Peter Lougheed Centre and at Edmonton hospitals. This will help clear daily inter-facility transport backlogs and help with patient flow at more Calgary hospitals.

Currently, AHS has inter-facility transfer pilots in four rural communities.

Integrated operations centre

Part of the $22 million allocated to address priorities and increase capacity will go towards adding an integrated operations centre in Calgary to mirror the existing one in Edmonton. The centre will improve integration between EMS and hospital staff and bring together paramedic leads with zone and hospital staff. This will improve overall flow and reduce the amount of time ambulance crews spend waiting to transfer patients from one location to another.

Ground ambulance contracts

Current agreements with service delivery partners will be extended while applying cost adjustments to ensure there is capacity to manage current system pressures and support the sustainability of EMS. The forthcoming EMS Service Plan will inform negotiations on longer-term contracts.

Quick facts

• Budget 2022 provides EMS with a total operating budget of $587 million, a 12.2 per cent increase from Budget 2021.

• On March 10, Alberta’s government put out a request for proposal for a third party to conduct an objective review of the EMS dispatch system.

• The Government of Alberta has formed the Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee (https://www.alberta.ca/provincial-EMSadvisory-committee.aspx) to make recommendations that will help ease pressures on the EMS system.

• The committee includes MLAs, service delivery partners, unions representing paramedics, municipal association representatives, Indigenous community representatives and other key partners. The committee is responsible for providing ongoing, timely recommendations and submitting an interim and a final report on their findings.