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November 18, 2009
Amendment clarifies sharing of information between ambulance attendants and police
Bill 62 reaffirms information disclosure is in the public interest
Edmonton... Maintaining the ability of ambulance attendants to share their eye witness information with police is the focus of Bill 62, the Emergency Health Services Amendment Act which was introduced in the legislature on November 18.
In April of this year, the responsibility for emergency health services moved from municipalities to Alberta Health Services. While ambulance attendants continue to be governed by Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPP) legislation they will soon be governed by the Health Information Act (HIA). Amendments to bring them under the Health Information Act were passed this year and are expected to be proclaimed early in 2010.
Under current privacy legislation, ambulance attendants are able to disclose to police what they observe at the scene of an incident. The pending transition to the Health Information Act has raised some privacy-related questions about whether they can continue to provide that type of information to police. Bill 62 will clarify that they can maintain that longstanding relationship.
“Now that ambulance attendants are coming under the Health Information Act, this amendment will allow them to continue to provide vital information to police and peace officers that is in the public interest,” said Minister of Health and Wellness, Ron Liepert. “Ambulance attendants must continue to have the ability to share information that will help police investigators do their job in order to keep our neighbourhoods and communities safe.”
“Emergency medical personnel are often the first responders or the only witnesses able to provide police key information about a serious crime or incident,” said Fred Lindsay, Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security. “Allowing for the continued exchange of this information will ensure the ability of police to investigate serious crimes or incidents is not compromised.”
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