A four-month pilot project beginning in early November will see an ambulance stationed at the fire halls in Warman and Martensville.
The pilot project, approved in principle by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), will see the ambulance staffed with a full paramedic crew and on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the Saskatoon region.
The goal of the pilot project is to improve ambulance response times in the cities of Warman and Martensville. The Medavie Health Services West ambulance and paramedic crew will alternate on a weekly basis between the two fire halls.
Funding for the pilot project was provided by the provincial government as part of a $2.9 million investment to boost Emergency Medical Services (EMS) announced on September 11, 2020. Most of the additional funds ($2.13 million) will go toward additional paramedic staffing in Saskatoon and Regina; while $780,000 is earmarked for additional staffing at the Royal University Hospital (RUH) Emergency Department in Saskatoon.
Medavie Health Services West Director of Communications Troy Davies said while the pilot project agreement has not yet been finalized, he doesn’t see any barriers standing in its way.
“The parties are still working out the final details,” said Davies in an interview October 29. “It’s important for everyone to improve coverage.”
According to the SHA, there were 26,700 EMS calls in 2019-20 within the Saskatoon region, which includes Warman and Martensville. This represents an 11 per cent increase in call volume over the past five years.
Davies said the additional funding from the province has allowed Medavie to 16 additional paramedics.
The increasing volume of EMS calls has periodically resulted in slower ambulance response times to Martensville and Warman. Ambulances may be delayed for two main reasons:
* There may not be enough ambulances available during peak call times; or
* An ambulance may be tied up at a hospital emergency department. An ambulance cannot leave a hospital emergency department until the patient is turned over to hospital medical personnel. If the emergency department is busy that creates delays for ambulances.
Martensville Mayor Kent Muench said the pilot project is welcome news.
“It’s a temporary project, but I’m hopeful it will lead to something more permanent,” said Muench in an interview October 28. “We have excellent First Responder medical services provided by our fire departments in both cities right now, and that will continue. But this adds another layer of service, and should result in much shorter wait times for transporting patients to hospital.”
Warman Mayor Sheryl Spence said the pilot project is a great step forward.
“We’re very pleased the SHA took our concerns seriously,” said Spence. “It’s a pilot project, but all good things have to start somewhere, and I think this is a win not just for the two communities, but for the region as a whole, and also for the SHA.”
Muench said Martensville and Warman elected officials and administration have been lobbying for improved ambulance service to the growing communities for years.
“It would be nice if a city could simply set up its own ambulance system, but it’s not that simple, said Muench. “Health care is a provincial, not a municipal, responsibility; and secondly, there are liability issues around transporting patients.
“So in seeking to improve ambulance service, it took a lot of lobbying. It also involved a collaborative effort with the province, the ambulance company, and our own first responders. The fire chiefs in Warman and Martensville have done a great job advocating for improved service.”
Spence said while having an ambulance stationed in Warman and Martensville is a positive step, it’s only a partial solution. Delays at hospital emergency departments also have to be dealt with, she added.
“They’re not going to solve the problem until they figure out how to fix the lag times at the hospitals,” she said.
Davies said ambulance allocation details are currently being finalized for the pilot project.
Warman Fire Chief Russ Austin said the provincial funding allowed Medavie Health Services to hire additional paramedic staff.
“After a lot of discussion it was felt that basing an ambulance in Martensville and Warman was the best option for improving service here,” said Austin in an interview October 28. “If it works, the SHA could look at a more permanent arrangement.”
The pilot project will see three ambulances that are “cleared”- which means they have cleared the hospital and are available to take a new call. Two of the “cleared” ambulances will be in Saskatoon, while the third “cleared” ambulance will be stationed in Martensville and Warman. The latter ambulance will respond to calls in the two smaller cities and surrounding rural area, and also the north end of Saskatoon.
Austin acknowledged lag times at hospital emergency departments need to be shortened in order for the pilot project to show improved ambulance response times.
“There are a lot of cogs in the machine,” he said. “Some of the cogs have bent teeth and they need to be straightened out before things can run smoothly.”
Austin said fire department first responders will continue to be dispatched to medical 911 calls.
“First responders arrive on scene in an average of 7 minutes and 22 seconds,” said Austin. “We assess and stabilize the patient, and that helps facilitate the transfer to paramedics and transport by ambulance to hospital.”
He noted the number of calls is increasing.
“We’re busy,” he said. “There are a lot of calls in both Warman and Martensville. In Warman, we do an average of a call a day and it’s close to that in Martensville as well.
“So far this year, we’ve responded to 320 medical calls; that’s an average of one a day.”