Alberta Minister of Health Jason Copping at EMS news conference May 26, 2022. (Photo: Alberta Government)

By Mario Cabradilla/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Alberta government aims to relieve EMS pressures

May 26, 2022 | 4:31 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The government of Alberta has revealed plans of easing pressure on emergency medical services (EMS) in the province.

Jason Copping, minister of health, says EMS advisory committee recommendations were quickly approved to improve coverage and response times of emergency medical services. These recommendations are focused on increasing staff, improvement of coverage and efficiency, addressing offload delays, and improving dispatch.

Alberta is providing a one-year exemption from current staffing requirements to allow emergency medical responders to use an alternate level of practitioners to help address staffing issues across the province. The province hopes this will alleviate the current staffing challenges in Alberta.

According to a May 26, news release by the province, to improve coverage and efficiency, community response units will be deployed as part of two pilot projects in Strathcona County and Spruce Grove.

To address offload delays, an Emergency Department Offload Delay Task Force will be formed to “bring together key health-care partners involved in all levels of the health system.” The province hopes this will also improve patient access to emergency departments and other health services.

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The task force will also develop guidelines for the timely and safe transfer of EMS patients to emergency department waiting rooms.

To improve dispatch, alternative service delivery options for patients who do not need an ambulance will also be reviewed. According to the same May 26, news release, “this is to assess less urgent calls and respond with other safe alternative options like non-medical transport, primary care appointment access or other specialized services such as a community paramedic.”

“All of these are just initial recommendations,” said Copping, explaining that he is also looking forward to an interim report that will be coming out soon. “But it was important that we actually move on this and move on this quickly, to be able to start addressing the pressures that we’re seeing in the system right now.”