Enhanced Ambulance Services En route to North Saskatoon Communities – Saskatoon | The Canadian News

The Saskatchewan government recently announced plans to improve response times and ambulance services for a large portion of the communities north of Saskatoon.

Cities like Martensville and Warman are two of the fastest growing communities in Saskatchewan, exceeding some of their ambulance service requirements.

The provincial government’s announcement means that there will be an ambulance located in Martensville to help reduce wait times, address continued growth, and improve ambulance services.

“This is one piece of the puzzle and I think we are going to expand on that in the near future,” said Warman Mayor Gary Philpchuk.

Philipchuk said he also hopes to see a Warman-based ambulance at some point. In addition to more medical care, such as a centralized hospital for the region.

Philipchuk added that the Warman and Martensville area has a population of about 25,000 people and that number is increasing, with Warman having the highest population.

“We hope this is a precursor to more healthcare-related expansions coming to our communities,” Martensville City Mayor Kent Muench told Global News.

Muench said this is a great announcement to reduce the number of wait times and ease the system in Saskatoon a bit.

“We have heard that some people have had to wait 30 minutes, an hour or more in some cases,” Muench said.

Martensville-Warman MLA Terry Jenson said this is part of the government’s spring budget commitment of $ 6.57 million to improve emergency medical services in the province. The government will provide $ 1.16 million in annual funding to SHA to support these improved services.

“This enhancement will provide better EMS service to complement first aid services in the area and communities such as Warman, Martensville, Borden, Dalmeny, Hepburn, Langham and Osler,” said SHA Executive Director of Provincial Programs Rod MacKenzie.

“We thank all the rural communities and municipalities that participated in our consultations. Through those consultations, we identified that both Martensville and Warman would be great communities on which to base this service. “

MacKenzie said Martensville was selected because of its central location for a slightly larger population of the area, causing a decrease in travel distance and response times for a larger number of residents.

Muench added that it is crucial that these services reach the ever-growing area and do not force people to pursue them in a sense.

“It really is important to make sure that the point of care is where residents live rather than requiring these residents to travel to Saskatoon or any other community to receive the care they need,” Muench told Global News.

Philipchuk said the ad is best for all communities north of Saskatoon.

“Now we have to make sure we have delivery points. Having them within our region is beneficial to the entire system in Saskatoon, ”said Philipchuk.

SHA will take a phased approach and will begin providing services 12 hours a day in November and an additional 12 hours a day beginning in March 2022.

Medavie Health Services West is the EMS area service provider that will establish and staff the Martensville response base.