More funding not long-term solution to fix Alberta’s ‘broken’ emergency care system: report

Adding more resources to Alberta’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) does not address “long-standing problems” faced by paramedics that existed well before the pandemic, according to a new report.

The research by Parkland Institute suggests the “EMS crisis” cannot be blamed on increased call volumes linked to COVID-19 – a deviation from the provincial government’s stance.

“Lights and Sirens: The Critical Condition of EMS in Alberta” examines the situation from the point of view of paramedics. It was authored by medical sociologist Michael K. Corman.

“All and all, the system is burning out paramedics which is having a significant impact on patients,” Corman told CityNews.

RELATED: AHS ‘optimistic’ amid decreases to EMS wait times, red alerts

Some of the problems identified by paramedics in the report:

• • An erosion of key work processes
  • A system based exclusively on efficiency
  • A lowering of standards due to certain policies and practices
  • A toxic work environment

The EMS crisis has multiple facets and is rooted in long-standing problems.

Adding more resources might be part of the solution, but much more is needed: “Throwing money at the problem will not solve it.”

Read Parkland’s new report at https://t.co/RYL3YaalMS pic.twitter.com/lTq6tj4yHO

— Parkland Institute (@ParklandInst) March 7, 2023

Amalgamation of medical services

The report suggests current issues with EMS can be traced back to 2009, when emergency medical services were amalgamated.

That amalgamation resulted in Alberta Health Services and the Government of Alberta taking a “command and control” approach, according to Parkland Institute, which hurt the health system and paramedics.

The group says investing money in EMS, such as for new equipment, is not a viable long-term solution.

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“More staff helps, but without improved working conditions all we are doing is throwing more professionals into a broken system that will only break more people,” said Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta union.

“The system is not only broken for those needing emergency care, it’s also breaking our paramedics and emergency communications officers.”

List of recommendations 

The report makes 15 recommendations to address the issues in emergency care, with many focused on other elements of the health system such as home and community care, long-term care and physician services. They include:

• Enhancing social care spending
• Better access to services and supports (such as safe consumption sites)
• Developing an evidence-based plan to determine the resources needed
• Changing the data collection strategies used to inform policymaking
• Making the non-traditional role of community paramedics a mainstay in Alberta
• Addressing the source of paramedic burnout

Work already underway, says province

Alberta’s minister of health says steps have already been taken to implement changes, prior to the study being released.

In a statement to CityNews, Minister Jason Copping says Alberta is “well into acting” on 98 recommendations from the EMS Provincial Advisory Committee.

“Most of the recommendations, upon a cursory review, are addressed by the AEPAC and PriceWaterhouse Cooper reports,” said Copping. “The report also concluded before the actions we took as a government following the release of our reports and the actions taken by (AHS administrator John) Cowell to address the concerns in our EMS system.

“More work will continue, because of a record budget increase, should the budget be passed.”

Copping says the budget is pledging $196 million over three years by hiring staff and implementing the advisory committee’s recommendations.

“This brings the total investment to $740 million this year alone for EMS,” said Copping in the statement. “This is an increase of 23 per cent over the last year’s budget.

“In addition, $15 million over three years will be invested in a new program to purchase ambulances and related equipment, which supplements AHS’ self-financing program for EMS equipment.”

Echoing Cowell from last week, Copping said the province is already addressing burnout and fatigue among staff, while touting a drop in both EMS response time and emergency alerts.

—With files from Carly Robinson