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I am sitting in a Zoom waiting room waiting to hear from the mayors of Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge and the RM of Wood Buffalo regarding EMS dispatch consolidation. The move to centralized dispatch is set to begin this week. #YYC #ABleg #YYCcc @GlobalCalgary
And we're underway.
Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer opens the press conference. She says the decision compromises the health and safety of Albertans. She says dispatch calls will take longer because of this change. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer opens the press conference. She says the decision compromises the health and safety of Albertans. She says dispatch calls will take longer because of this change. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
Starting tomorrow, calls for EMS will shift from 7 to 3 call centres across the province. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
Veer says patient care will be impacted because fire departments won't be immediately dispatched as they are now under the integrated model. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
"This is wrong, and this is waste of public resources," Veer says it will take the province back 30 years in emergency response. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
Veer says the mayors haven't heard from the Premier on this issue, so they are appealing to cabinet to pause dispatch consolidation. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
Mayor Spearman speaking now.
He says the City of Lethbridge has offered to pay $1.2M to keep its dispatch as is. He says the change will cost taxpayers ~$5M in mitigating risk. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
He says the City of Lethbridge has offered to pay $1.2M to keep its dispatch as is. He says the change will cost taxpayers ~$5M in mitigating risk. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
Lethbridge only has 6 ambulances, and fire apparatus have the resources and equipment to respond to medical calls. The city has one dispatch service for EMS, police and fire. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
Spearman calls consolidation a reckless decision, adding that it will impact patient outcomes. He then says there has been no indication the province wants to work with municipalities. #YYC #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
Mayor Nenshi speaking now. He says EMS consolidation has been the wrong thing to do for a long time. #YYC #YYCcc #ABleg @GlobalCalgary
