Dear Mountain View Constituents,
I hope everyone is enjoying our fine Autumn with much gratitude for our great city and province and wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving.
The Supreme Court decision to halt the Trans-Mountain Pipeline expansion has certainly added to investment uncertainty in Alberta but it is a painful reminder that both provincial and federal governments have work to do in fully addressing both the coastal environmental concerns with tanker traffic and the indigenous rights to be meaningfully engaged in approvals.
I launched an Emergency Medical Services survey and Hotline: 1-888-442-4664 in July which has given Albertans and EMS staff a chance to anonymously report concerns with the Provincial EMS system including delays in response times and delays in ER hallways. Earlier this year I reviewed wasteful mismanagement within EMS regarding delays in EMS response times, patient safety concerns, resulting in increased staff overtime. EMS staff worked 135,000 hours overtime which cost Alberta taxpayers around $12 million in wages in 2016 with significant adverse effects on personal and family life.
AHS data showed that 2-member EMS crews spent 650,000 hours in one year waiting in emergency rooms to transfer patients to attending nurses. The median wait time in Alberta is nearly four times greater than the United Kingdom standard of 15 minutes. I believe the EMS Hotline will help us learn more about the crisis in our EMS system and stimulate solutions.
The NDP announced $25 million more in spending for EMS in this year’s Budget. We still don’t know how this money is being spent or if it will address these issues. Albertans deserve an efficient and effective EMS system.
Albertans can share their EMS concerns anonymously by calling the Hotline or in writing in confidence to [email protected]
The lines are still available.
SAVE THE DATE: October 4th, 2018 at 7PM at the Kerby Centre
EMS, ER and Patient Care Public Forum
to hear the results and contribute to the solutions!
