Grande Prairie firefighters looking for solutions as medical response times rise
CBC
The union representing Grande Prairie firefighters is calling for solutions to improve response time, with department data showing members have spent more than an hour on some medical calls.
The Grande Prairie Fire Department provides emergency co-response when no AHS ambulance is available. The department reported firefighters spend an average of 11 minutes 30 seconds at medical calls, compared to six minutes and 30 seconds two years ago.
"GPFD has noted a significant increase in the time on task required to fulfil the medical response role," reads a report before Grande Prairie councillors. "This is related to delays in AHS EMS ambulances arriving on scene to treat and transport patients."
The report notes "GPFD has even logged EMS response delays that exceed 60 minutes."
Fire Chief Preben Bossen said an increase in time spent providing medical support is affecting resources being sent to other emergencies.
"It's getting to a bit of a critical point where it's going to impact service if we don't sort of see a correction in the level of service from EMS," Bossen said in an interview with CBC News.
Bossen said there are potential liability concerns if firefighters transport a patient to hospital.
"You transport somebody in a vehicle that's not designed to transport a patient and you further injure the patient," Bossen said.
"So it puts our frontline staff in a difficult position when they know that time is of the essence, and yet there's no unit for transport."
Grande Prairie city council is set to vote on three recommendations to address emergency response times next week.
Grant Berg, city councillor, said public safety is top of mind.
"One of the immediate things would be to make sure that our firefighters and our citizens, by extension, are protected," Berg said in an interview with CBC News.
One recommendation going before council is to advocate for provincial funding to support fire medical response.
Ian MacDonald, president of the Grande Prairie Firefighters Association said an integrated model, where firefighters can assist with EMS transport, is one option. He said Grande Prairie could also consider creating a standalone EMS service.
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