Need an ambulance? Starting Saturday, call 911 — not your local operator's number

Newfoundland and Labrador's patchwork of private ambulance providers is moving into the public system starting Saturday, which means their old phone numbers will no longer be in service. 

As of June 1, anyone needing an ambulance in the province has to call 911.

Until now, the provincial government relied on more than 60 private ambulance providers in a system the health minister called "fragmented." The change aims to rectify that.

"It will help provide a more modernized system, ensuring we have shorter wait times and better services on board," Tom Osborne said during a virtual news conference on Thursday.

The 500 workers who staffed ambulances in the province before Saturday will become public employees, meaning huge salary increases in some cases, along with benefits and pension. 

Cassie Chisholm, the vice-president of transformation within the province's health systems, said it will level the playing field when it comes to working conditions and expectations.

A major recommendation from the province's Health Accord report was the integration of air and road ambulances into one provincewide system with a central dispatch. 

One of the last straws for private ambulance services was a strike last year that saw more than 100 workers for seven companies walking off the job in January. All seven companies were owned by Clarenville businessman Bob Fewer.

Workers were protesting their wages and lack of pension plan, along with working conditions in mostly rural coverage areas.

There were also concerns about companies not keeping up the minimum level of coverage in communities like Trepassey, where the employer said worker shortages made it difficult to maintain service.

Chisholm said many of those concerns are alleviated now that operations fall under the public system.

"We will set a standard, we will anticipate people meeting that standard," Chisholm said.

While the health authority is now watching over ambulances, it does have a request for proposals seeking an operator to run the entire integrated air and road ambulance system. Osborne said two qualified proponents have come forward, and their proposals are being examined.

"Right care, right place, right time, right provider" is the philosophy behind the new approach, said Chisholm.