Alberta’s EMS crisis has multiple facets and is rooted in long-standing problems, according to a report done by the Parkland Institute. .“Investing money in EMS for new equipment won’t solve this crisis,” said Health Sciences Association of Alberta President Mike Parker in a Tuesday press release. .“Government needs to consult with us to create working conditions that are both physically and psychologically safe for all healthcare professionals.”.Medical sociologist Michael Corman said the Alberta EMS crisis did not come from increased call volumes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Corman said the pandemic “just exposed the weak foundation of a system that has been teetering on the edge for some time.”.The report said problems identified by paramedics include an erosion of important work processes which are central to being competent. Corman said this was in large part brought on by the idea of doing more with less. .Parker said the ongoing healthcare crisis is having a real impact on paramedics. He added the system is breaking paramedics and emergency communications officers. .The report went on to say paramedic burnout can be seen in the higher numbers of sick time experienced by workers in the last few years. .“Sick time in 2022 represents a loss of over 22,000 12-hour paramedic shifts,” said Corman. .“The root of the current crisis dates back at least to the amalgamation of emergency medical services in the province in 2009.”.The reform resulted in Alberta Health Services and the provincial government assuming responsibility for most EMS in the province and adopting a command and control governance style. .While more staff helps, Parker said without improved working conditions, “all we are doing is throwing more professionals into a broken system that will only break more people.”.Corman drafted 15 recommendations to address much-needed EMS-specific changes and those geared towards upstream medicine and the social determinants of health. .The EMS-specific changes include developing an evidence-based plan to determine the resources needed, changing the data collection strategies used to inform the development of policies and system design, and making nontraditional community paramedics more common. .Another recommendation is adopting the principles of a trauma-informed environment focused on physical and mental health. .The report said enhancing social services spending to focus on equity and inclusion will result in healthier populations. It said expanding access to services such as safe consumption sites would contribute to reducing the workload of paramedics. .“EMS doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” said Corman. .Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping said the government was working on this before the study was released. .“Alberta’s Government is already well into acting on 98 recommendations from the Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee (AEPAC) that is improving work culture and environment,” said Copping..“More work will continue, because of a record budget increase, should the budget be passed.”.Upon a cursory review, Copping said most of the recommendations were covered by AEPAC and PricewaterhouseCoopers reports. He said Budget 2023 provides $196 million over three years to strengthen services by hiring more staff and implementing recommendations made by AEPAC. .The Alberta government will spend $15 million over three years on a new program to purchase ambulances and related equipment. It is addressing burnout and fatigue by hiring 39 additional front-line staff, while another 80 full-time paramedics are being recruited..The Alberta government said February 27 its plan to lower wait times for EMS responses appears to be working. .READ MORE: Alberta cities see reductions in EMS response times, surgery wait times drop.It released its 90-day report and said Albertans are spending less time waiting for the medical care they need since the Health Care Action Plan was launched..“There is no one silver bullet to fixing our healthcare system, and change will take time," said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
