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Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee

Provided immediate and long-term recommendations to enhance Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provided to Albertans.

Overview

The Alberta EMS Provincial Advisory Committee was established to address the growing demand for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) across our province.

Calls to 911 have increased 30% since the spring of 2021. This added strain leads to increased pressure on the EMS system and the people who work in it.

The advisory committee was tasked with providing immediate and long-term recommendations that will better support staff and ensure a strengthened and sustainable EMS system for Albertans needing services now and into the future.

Timeline

  • Open

  • Results under review

  • Completed

Who is listening

Ministry of Health

Input received

Email submissions were reviewed by the committee.

Input received by email, and through engaging with frontline EMS staff informed the committee’s recommendations.

Outcomes

The Alberta government has accepted all recommendations in the Alberta Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee report and the independent Dispatch Review. 

The Healthcare Action Plan will lead to better EMS response times through a variety of actions, including some identified in the committee report and Dispatch Review. We are developing an implementation plan to address actions not already underway.

Mandate

The advisory committee focused on the issues facing EMS, such as system pressures that may cause service gaps, staffing issues, and hours of work. This included issues related to ground ambulance, air ambulance and dispatch.

Advisory committee members have also:

  • reviewed procedures and policies related to the delivery of EMS in the province
  • identified current and emerging issues that impact EMS service delivery in Alberta
  • developed recommended strategies or actions to address the issues
  • tracked progress, evaluated results and reported on progress

Throughout this work, the committee provided regular updates and recommendations to the Minister of Health to be actioned in the short-term.

The committee submitted an initial formal report to the Minister of Health in May 2022, and a final and more detailed report with long-term recommendations in September 2022.

Advisory committee members

Co-Chairs:

  • RJ Sigurdson, MLA Highwood
  • Tracy Allard, MLA Grande Prairie

Members:

  • Tany Yao, MLA Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo
  • Executive Director, Health Service Planning and Quality, AH
  • Provincial Director, Emergency Health Services, AH
  • Senior Leadership Representative from AHS EMS
  • Medical Director, AHS EMS
  • Representative Member of Emergency Strategic Clinical Network
  • Leadership representatives from AHS-contracted EMS providers (including a cross section of for profit, municipal, not-for-profit, Indigenous, and representing different zones across Alberta that reflect remote, rural, urban regions)
  • Leadership representative from Alberta College of Paramedics
  • Leadership representative from the Health Sciences Association of Alberta
  • Leadership representative from the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association
  • Leadership representative from the Alberta Professional Fire Fighters & Paramedics Association
  • Leadership representative from the Alberta Paramedic Association
  • Representative from public post-secondary institution that offers paramedic education
  • Member of Alberta Municipalities
  • Member of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta
  • Leadership representatives from First Nations communities
  • Leadership representative from a Metis community
  • Patient Family Advisory Committee member

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