Though the Calgary portion of new provincial medical first response funding is a fraction of what’s spent to deliver services, Calgary’s fire chief said it’s a step in the right direction.
The Alberta government announced an additional $2.5 million in funding for their Medical First Response (MFR) program and will expand to include medium and large programs across the province.
The additional $2.5 million will be used directly to support the growing costs of delivering the services, including increased volume of calls that correspond with population growth.
“Medical first responders are unsung heroes and often the first on the scene of an emergency, particularly in remote areas where access to immediate care is limited,” said Alberta Minister of Health, Adriana LaGrange, in a prepared media release.
“Their swift intervention can mean the difference between life and death while waiting for EMS services. Investing in these agencies will help to make sure they have the tools and training they need to provide timely and life-saving emergency care when and where it’s needed.”
Calgary has long been at odds with the province over the provision of medical first response care in the city. Many city councillors and the mayor have argued that delivery of these kinds of health care services is the responsibility of the province, though EMS services can’t keep up with the volume.
That’s left the Calgary Fire Department to pick up the slack, with medical call volumes making up 55 per cent of all CFD calls, according to Chief Steve Dongworth.
“The demand for emergency medical services has been steadily increasing, placing strain on our resources and impacting our ability to respond swiftly to all emergencies,” Chief Dongworth told LWC Feb. 13 during the launch of a second mobile medical response unit.
Small but welcome help, said Chief Dongworth
Speaking to LWC after the province’s announcement, Chief Dongworth said the cash infusion was welcome news. They’ve been involved in ongoing conversations over the provincial reimbursement for medical calls for several years.
Dongworth said they’d had some success getting reimbursement in the past when their response was requested by EMS, but that Alberta Health Services hasn’t wanted to reimburse them for their voluntary response.
Previously, the province had told LiveWire Calgary that the City of Calgary wasn’t enrolled in the MFR program, and that funding wouldn’t be available for voluntary medical first response. Dongworth said in some cases where fire responded and provided medical aid, EMS didn’t arrive for more than an hour, sometimes two. At the tail end of the pandemic, he said they were transporting patients to hospital via fire truck.
The $311,000 is going to help, Chief Dongworth said. Still, it’s just a fraction of the $13.5 million they budget for firefighters’ medical response. He said the new Beltline medical unit alone will cost nearly $2 million annually.
“We’re happy to receive anything because that offsets the mill rate, the taxpayer support for it in Calgary. It is a very small amount in the big scheme of things,” he said.
“But I hope this is a first step towards some future increase to where it becomes the whole of the amount that we expend on medical response for the Calgary Fire Department.”
Mayor Jyoti Gondek also said it was nice to hear the province step forward with some additional cash, but reiterated that it costs $13.5 million to deal with medical calls.
“I do hope that this is augmented by what we actually need,” she said.
