EMS not so dire in southwest Sask
Knock on wood, Cypress Health Region’s EMS department is serving James Leroy just fine.
Leroy, reeve of the RM of White Valley near Eastend, says he’s heard nothing negative about the region’s ambulance service, even though a Market Supplement Review reports that five of Cypress’s 12 budgeted EMT positions were vacant in July. The report did not include casual employees.
That said, “we haven’t had any real emergencies” lately, said Leroy.
The southwest Saskatchewan region currently has three part-time vacancies, two of which have become vacant within the last month, said Cypress executive director of health services Gloria Illerbrun. She expects those will be filled by next week.
“We haven’t had full-time vacancies for quite some time,” said Illerbrun, adding the region works hard to ensure that any vacancies do not negatively impact service.
Worst-case scenario, the region has partnerships with private operators to pick up the slack, she said.
That kind of backup plan doesn’t sit well with Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan (HSAS) president Karen Wasylenko.
When the employer says “‘we can draw from the other community,’ well then that community doesn’t have a service, so what are you going to do then?” said Wasylenko.
HSAS is pushing for a review of the province’s ambulance services.
“Where you’re having to put an ambulance between two communities to cover off, between Shaunavon and Eastend for example,” said Wasylenko, “that is an indication there’s not enough.”
Shaunavon Mayor Sharon Dickie, who hasn’t heard from people dissatisfied with service, says she can understand the staffing issues: “In rural Saskatchewan, there’s always a shortage in any profession.”
Leroy agreed: “I think we’re fairly safe and we’re taken care of as well as the health region can manage right now, with our corner of the world having such a shortfall of staff for just about every job that’s available.”
Wasylenko said the public is not generally aware of the state of the service, “because it’s something they don’t use until they need it.”
Blake Campbell hasn’t had to worry about staffing issues at the Gull Lake and District Road Ambulance Corporation, but he sympathizes with the region.
“JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE SMALLER, YOUR CALL VOLUME’S LESS, THAT CAN BE A CHALLENGE SOMETIMES AS TO KEEPING PEOPLE.”
BLAKE CAMPBELL
“My understanding is they don’t have as many full-time people, which I think probably could contribute to that being harder to staff,” said Campbell, who manages the service and is also mayor of Gull Lake. “Just because you’re smaller, your call volume’s less, that can be a challenge sometimes as to keeping people.”
The town’s non-profit ambulance service is contracted by the health region to offer emergency services, funded by a government grant and fees for service.
“We have been fortunate here. Most of my guys have been here” a long time, said Campbell, who has been an EMT for 28 years. The two other full-timers have been there nearly 10 years.
Working casual positions, where employees are on call for 100 hours per week at $5 an hour with no benefits, prevents them from taking other employment, said Wasylenko.
Illerbrun said that’s not the case.
“They can work at other jobs and we’ve got communities where we talk with employers and they’re very willing to (allow casual staff) to leave work abruptly to do an ambulance call,” said Illerbrun.