The times when there is no ambulance available to respond to a call in Edmonton have exploded over the past three years under the UCP, according to new AHS data acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request.
In May of 2019 there were 13 Red Alerts in Edmonton, totaling about 20 minutes. In May of this year, there were 859 Red Alerts for a total of 24 hours and 42 minutes. In January, there were 1,233 Red Alerts, for a total of 39 hours and 41 minutes. There have been more than 20 hours’ worth of Red Alerts in Edmonton for every month this year there is complete data for.
“These numbers show the full impact of the UCP’s failures with our healthcare system,” said David Shepherd, Alberta NDP Critic for Health. “The UCP is putting Alberta families at risk and failing frontline workers.
“We know that this has ripple effects outside of the City of Edmonton and for the first time, paramedics in Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, St Albert, Fort Saskatchewan and Sherwood Park have spent more time responding to calls in Edmonton than in their own communities.”
In January, the UCP appointed an advisory committee led by two UCP MLAs, and unveiled a 10-point plan to address the crisis.
“It’s clear that the UCP’s 10-point plan is not fixing the problem,” Shepherd said. “It’s clear that an advisory committee led by two UCP MLAs is not fixing the problem. AHS’ own EMS dashboard shows that wait times for ambulances are longer than ever. We’ve seen horrible incidents in Calgary of critically injured Albertans waiting and waiting for ambulances to arrive. This is a crisis.”
Shepherd repeated the three calls for action from paramedics.
“We need more paramedics, and we need to take better care of the ones we already have.
“The government needs to commit to getting EMS crews off shift, on time. The additional hours that paramedics spend stuck at overwhelmed hospitals is one of the main drivers of burnout and turnover in EMS.
“Second, the government needs to offer every paramedic a full-time permanent contract instead of the 89-day temporary contracts that make up about 40 per of the EMS workforce today.
“Lastly, the government needs to urgently expand harm reduction services that save lives and reduce the incredible burden the drug poisoning crisis has put on paramedics and emergency room workers.
“The UCP should have acted on these calls months ago. But I urge Jason Copping to act on them today.”