EMS restructuring met with mixed reaction
Anna Smith,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
With Acute Care becoming operational on April 1, the Government of Alberta has announced that emergency medical services will transfer with it, along with investment into the program.
The province says it will establish a shared-services entity to support provincial health agencies and service providers, with the aim of enhancing specialized expertise and improving care.
This entity would provide necessary services like information technology, finance and human resources functions, along with centralized communications functions, as well as IT services in Alberta’s health-care system.
This aims to ensure patients have a seamless journey throughout the health-care system and health-care workers have system-wide access to critical patient information, and is expected to be operational in the summer.
“From the beginning of our refocusing efforts, we’ve emphasized the importance of creating organizations dedicated to specific sectors, allowing health care workers to focus on what they do best,” said Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health. “By moving emergency health services to Acute Care Alberta, I am confident it will receive the focused attention needed to deliver the care Albertans deserve.”
“Under the oversight of Acute Care Alberta, emergency health services will work to enhance emergency care and improve system efficiency, patient safety and response times in all parts of the province,” says the province.
They continued that EMS will also be accountable for driving system improvements and wellbeing for both staff and patients, among others.
Reducing emergency response times, strengthening EMS capacity and supporting paramedics on the front lines remains a top priority, the government says, and Budget 2025 contains $56 million in increased funding for EMS.
There is also an additional $40 million toward a total investment of $60 million over three years to the EMS Vehicles Capital Program, to replace vehicles reaching the end of their life cycles.
Anna Smith,
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Medicine Hat News
