“I’m not kidding when I say we have people lined up with applications to work for the City of Coaldale if we are successful in taking over our ambulance service,” said Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn.
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A southern Alberta city is trying to bring ambulances back under municipal control as concerns grow about the province’s ability to provide sufficient service.
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The town of Coaldale, located about 15 kilometers east of Lethbridge, is trying to regain control of emergency medical services from Alberta Health Services, 12 years after handing over responsibility to the province.
Mayor Jack Van Rijn sent a letter to AHS on June 28, requesting that AHS contract out ambulance services for the city, giving him control of the ambulances, paramedics and scheduling, all of which, according to the mayor, the city he managed successfully before transitioning to AHS EMS in 2010. He pointed to the nearby townships of Lethbridge and Picture Butte, both contracted to run EMS on behalf of AHS.
“Your programs are running very efficiently. I know that Picture Butte is a smaller community with a smaller volunteer base to run the ambulance service, but so far they have been able to do it,” Van Rijn told Postmedia on Wednesday.
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“I’m not kidding when I say we have people lined up with applications to work for the City of Coaldale if we are successful in taking our ambulance service.”
In his letter, Van Rijn said that the average response time of ambulances for life-threatening calls has doubled since 2012; data provided by AHS shows that the average response time is above the 12-minute mark, up from eight in 2014. He also said that so-called “Code Red” events (times when no ambulance is available in the city around than 9,000 people) have increased by 267 percent since 2012.
“That’s a direct result of the system that we’re working on with Alberta Health Services,” Van Rijn said.
AHS spokesperson Kerry Williamson said the target average response time for life-threatening events in Coaldale is 10 minutes, 15 minutes at the 90th percentile, but noted that the levels are “not much higher than what they were before the pandemic… and they seem to be getting better in the last two quarters.”
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Van Rijn said the problem is multifaceted. He says the city’s paramedics are often overworked and exhausted, leading to frequent scheduling breaks. Additionally, Coaldale ambulances often transfer patients to larger cities, sometimes as far away as Calgary, for residents’ scheduled hospital visits, putting ambulances out of service for hours.
“To add insult to injury, when they get to Calgary, as soon as they get out of the hospital… Suddenly the dispatch has them making calls in Calgary,” Van Rijn said. “Instead of leaving the patient returning to Coaldale, they are now in charge of the ambulance service in the city of Calgary and we are left without an ambulance.”
City Fire Chief Kevin McKeown said he has seen 40 Code Reds through 2022 so far, up from 33 in 2021. Under a Code Red, medical services fall to firefighters while ambulances they send from other areas, sometimes remote communities. like Brooks, more than an hour away.
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“This problem is getting worse. I think Coaldale deserves better,” McKeown said.
Williamson confirmed that EMS leadership is speaking directly with Coaldale officials about the request, but did not provide further details. He said EMS continues to see an unprecedented increase in emergency calls in both rural and urban areas, straining the system and paramedics alike.
“This increase in calls includes the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid concerns, and emergency calls related to people returning to regular activity levels,” he said.
“Personnel illness and fatigue are also contributing to challenges in the EMS system. Paramedics and healthcare workers are understandably tired, fatigued and exhausted.”
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Even if the town is successful, the dispatch of ambulances would still be in the hands of the province. AHS completed its centralization of dispatch in January, eliminating localized services. Previously, Coaldale EMS calls were handled by dispatchers in Lethbridge.
“It would be nice to see the office return to this area,” McKeown said. “We think it was a much better system when it was operated from the Lethbridge Public Safety Communication Center.”
Van Rijn received a reply letter from the province’s top paramedic, Darren Sandbeck, late last week, and the two will meet to discuss the matter soon.
The mayor said a handful of municipalities are watching Coaldale very closely to see what happens with the discussions as they continue to handle similar issues with AHS EMS services.
“We’re going to be kind of a pilot program from the point of view of some of the other mayors that I’ve talked to. They’re very curious to see how you’re going to make the transition because Alberta Health Services, I understand, is not very keen to go down this road.
“We will make sure we do what is best for our residents.”
Twitter: @miguelrdrguez
