New EMS response-time targets set by Alberta Health Services (AHS) are a welcome start to providing a consistent province wide measurement of Alberta’s emergency medical system, says the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, “For years, EMS practitioners have been advocating for clear targets against which to measure system performance,” says Michael Parker, a paramedic from Edmonton and vice-president of HSAA, the health care union that represents more than 3,000 EMS professionals.
     Response times are one aspect of the multifactor “dashboard” released by AHS yesterday December 17. Practitioners will be assessing the targets to ensure that they provide a realistic and meaningful measure of the quality of Alberta’s EMS system.
     “When the cities of Edmonton and Calgary were responsible for ground-ambulance services, the target was six minutes and 59 seconds,” says Parker. “Did we actually meet them? No. Will the new targets of eight minutes and 59 seconds 50 per cent of the time and 12 minutes or less 90 per cent of the time in metro areas – and longer times on rural areas – deliver satisfactory quality? That remains to be seen.” HSAA president Elisabeth Ballermann says:
    “The new response-time targets are all set higher than the actual performance , so it’s fair to ask whether AHS has set the bar too low. We will be working with our members to ensure that these targets do not mean we accept the status quo of frequent and extensive Code Red (no ambulances available) and Code Orange (In Edmonton and Calgary, eight or fewer ambulances available) as satisfactory.”HSAA acknowledges that AHS has introduced several measures to improve the availability of ambulances within  90 minutes 90 per cent of the time, as well as community para-medicine, where EMS professionals treat patients in their homes or long-term care facilities without having to transport them to hospital.
    “We are prepared to give credit where due, but as the union representing a total of more 24,000 health professionals, including EMS, we will continue to advocate for appropriate resources to serve Albertans,”said Ballerman.
The Wildrose Party state that Albertans are losing under AHS 4-tier Ambulance scheme as reduced ambulance delivery in the province will leave the majority of Alberta dark for timely access to emergency care.  
    AHS announced the targets for four different regions with no regard for proximity to hospitals or emergency care facilities.  Well over 90% of the province’s geography falls under “remote” or “rural” and will continue to face unacceptable wait times for emergency care.  
    Drumheller-Stettler MLA Rick Strankman is looking into this issue and will be responding by  early next week.