Airdrie Ambulance Debacle

I gave the following statement in the Legislature last week after learning there has been a 33% increase in ambulance response times since Alberta Health Services (AHS) took over responsibility of ambulance services for Airdrie from our own prized integrated fire and ambulance service late last year.

I want to be clear that my critique of this unacceptable situation has nothing whatever to do with the quality or professionalism of the first responders involved, but is an instead an indictment of the complete managerial incompetence of AHS and the callous indifference of the PC Government in allowing it to happen despite the pleas of local first responders, City Council and your MLA.

“Mr. Speaker, last year Airdrie had one of the most effective and efficient integrated ambulance and fire services in the country. It was a prized life-saving jewel of our City.

And then came the Alberta Health Superboard.

When determined by this Government that AHS would manage provincial ambulance services, I was promised by (then Health Minister Ron Liepert), this would not mean Airdrie would lose its integrated service. In fact, he said, Airdrie would benefit from the province picking up the cost.

Well, turned out this wasn’t true. AHS…would not enter into a contract with Airdrie unless it complied with a litany of expensive upgrades that made keeping the service financially impossible.

As a member of the Government (at the time), I begged (Minister Liepert) to intervene. He responded by paying a former PC Cabinet buddy to unsuccessfully mediate the dispute. After leaving the PCs, I pleaded with the current Health Minister (Gene Zwozdesky) to intervene, as did the Mayor, over and over again. We even had (Minister Zwozdesky) down to City Council to personally brief him on the situation.  After endless head nodding, we were assured it would be dealt with. Nothing was done.

So we lost our Integrated Service, and in came the white knights at AHS to run our ambulances.

Last night I received a call informing me that AHS is now reporting a 33% increase in Airdrie (ambulance) response times since the takeover. This means someone suffering a heart attack will wait almost 3 minutes longer for life saving treatment than they did prior to the takeover, increasing the risk of premature death.

The centralized Superboard experiment has been a complete failure and I have no doubt this Government will receive this verdict from voters at the next election.

But let me assure those involved with the Airdrie ambulance debacle – if we lose 1 person to premature death because of this incompetence, I will personally ensure those responsible are held accountable to the full extent of the law.

On behalf of my constituents, I demand the Health Minister order AHS to get those ambulance response times back to where they were prior to his Superboard’s incompetent takeover. Failure to do so will have very serious consequences.”