Alberta Health Services has announced it will be acting to fill vacant EMS positions, primarily in the Calgary and Edmonton regions..Additional 24/7 ambulance service coverage will be introduced in Okotoks and Chestermere within three months..“The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the strain on Alberta’s healthcare services, and our emergency medical system is no exception. Our government is taking immediate steps to address this pressure by supporting AHS’ 10-point action plan, which is already getting resources to the front lines. Putting 19 new ambulances on the street ensures emergency services respond as quickly as possible whenever and wherever they are needed,” Jason Copping, Alberta’s minister of health said..AHS has secured nine new ambulances. Five of them will be deployed in Edmonton and four will be deployed in Calgary by the end of June. Ten more new ambulances will serve these areas, five in each city by the end of September..Also, to increase the volume and capability of patient transportation, five non-emergency transport vehicles will be added for evenings and weekends. Four of these are for the Edmonton Zone and one will be deployed in the Calgary Zone within six weeks..In addition to the EMS vehicle and transportation complements, AHS hopes to address vacant positions by recruiting for the following:.• 40 new primary care paramedic positions, 20 each in both Calgary and Edmonton..• Two new advanced care paramedics and two new primary care paramedics specifically allotted for suburban-rural coverage in the Calgary Zone..• 40 temporary rover positions — staff who may fill in at various stations in a zone — in Calgary and Edmonton. In addition, the north, central and south zones will each have 10 positions extended until March 2023. These positions, originally hired in 2021, have assisted in managing short-notice staffing challenges, including illness and fatigue..Darren Sandbeck, chief paramedic and senior provincial director of the AHS said, “AHS EMS is continuing to experience the ‘new normal’ of 30% increase in call volume, and we are taking tangible steps to address this. These positions will help ensure we have sustainable staffing in place immediately and over the longer term. We are grateful for the funding and support from Alberta Health, which has enabled this resourcing as an important component of the EMS 10-point plan.”.Alberta’s Budget 2022 provided EMS with a total operating budget of $587 million — a $64-million increase since Budget 2021.
