Ken Chapman says Erin residents are being treated like “second class citizens” when it comes to land ambulance service.
“We’re putting our dollars into a Cadillac system and getting a 10-speed bicycle in return,” the Erin councillor said at a special meeting on Sept. 8.
The following day he brought his message to the Guelph-Wellington land ambulance committee, along with fellow delegates county councillor Lou Maieron and Erin resident Sandra Wilson, whose husband died from a heart attack in 2003 after waiting over half an hour for an ambulance.
And it seems their pleas for improved service, which have been ongoing for years, will now at least be considered.
Despite claims by committee member and Guelph Mayor Karen Farbridge that a new ambulance in Erin would have a negligible effect on response times there, the committee voted to consider in the 2010 budget a new ambulance in or near the town, 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
The motion was proposed by Puslinch Mayor Brad Whitcombe, who disagreed with Farbridge that the local fire department is the solution to reducing ambulance wait times in Erin, which regularly surpasses 23 minutes.
Whitcombe noted Erin would likely be happy to provide a building for the vehicle and suggested the cost – estimated to be about $175,000 for an equipped ambulance and $425,583 in annual operating costs – be included in next year’s budget.
“I hope that’s where we’re heading,” Whitcombe said.
Yet that was not one of the recommendations included in a report from Shawn Armstrong, Guelph’s Director of Emergency Services.
In his report, which seemed to be in direct conflict with his May report recommending a peak-hours ambulance in Erin, Armstrong pointed out county fire departments “continue to receive funding for medical supplies and equipment as necessary to support tiered fire department responses” to emergencies.
He noted having fire departments dispatched simultaneously with ambulances could provide average response times “of less than 10 minutes” and “would ultimately support and improve the overall care” for Erin residents.
Armstrong said the actual 90th percentile response time for the 47,262 Guelph-Wellington ambulance calls in 2008 was 12 minutes, 51 seconds. He recognized there are “pockets” with higher response times, but he stressed that overall, the local EMS is meeting the 14:55 provincially mandated response time for the area.
“We’re surpassing that standard,” he said.
Citing Armstrong’s report, Farbridge asked why Erin wants a new ambulance that would only improve regional response times by just two and a half minutes, when simultaneous dispatch of the local fire department would reduce waiting times by about 10 minutes, resulting in “significantly more positive outcomes.”
She added Guelph has better response times partly because of an effective tiered response system with the city fire department.
Chapman replied the city has a full-time professional fire department, unlike more rural areas like Erin, which operate volunteer departments. He explained the volunteers work other full-time jobs and do not have the medical expertise of paramedics. He said responding to every call would place stress on volunteers to the point the town would lose firefighters.
In addition to a petition signed by almost 1,500 people who want an ambulance in Erin, Chapman also presented the committee a resolution of Erin council stating the town’s fire department does not have the capability and the town does not have the money to send firefighters to every medical assist call.
When asked about the cost by Farbridge, Erin Mayor Rod Finnie explained the town has determined it costs roughly $1,200 per emergency response call, and in 2008 the department responded to 177 of the 618 ambulance calls in Erin.
If the department was to respond to the other 441 calls, that would raise the department’s operating budget by $350,000, to about $1-million. That would have a huge impact on Erin taxpayers, Finnie said, noting every $40,000 budget increase corresponds to a 1% increase in taxes.
But money aside, Finnie said when it comes to responding to ambulance calls, the fire department “can not physically do it.”
Whitcombe agreed, saying volunteer departments “can only do so much.” He stressed the committee has an obligation to provide the best ambulance service possible throughout Guelph and Wellington.
“And I think we should live up to that responsibility,” said Whitcombe.
Committee member and county councillor Barb McKay also did not want to place an extra burden on the “dedicated men and women” of Erin’s volunteer fire department.
She said Farbridge’s comparison of the 10 minute and two and a half minute reductions in wait times makes little sense, because it involves different personnel.
“We need to have better [ambulance] services for Erin,” McKay said.
Maieron said the ambulance station in Rockwood has neither significantly reduced waiting times nor changed that 80 to 90% of Erin calls are answered by outside ambulances from Dufferin, Peel, Halton, or Caledon.
“This is a very serious issue in our town,” he said. “We’ve tried all the other possible solutions and they haven’t really worked.”
Maieron also questioned the logic of relying on firefighters as first responders, when they specifically lack one of the most important functions during a medical emergency: the ability to transport a patient to the hospital for treatment.
Farbridge asked Maieron if Erin residents realize a new ambulance would improve response times by just two and a half minutes and that the ambulance would respond to calls outside town – and even the county – so it would not always be in Erin.
“I think it’s going to be more than two minutes,” Maieron said of the impact an Erin ambulance would have on local waiting times. Whitcombe agreed.
County Warden Joanne Ross-Zuj said Armstrong’s report is important because it highlights the need for fire departments to respond faster to emergencies, but that means “a huge investment” for Erin. She said a new ambulance for Erin is the best solution to improve wait times there.
Farbridge suggested a public meeting in Erin – with herself, Ross-Zuj, Finnie, Armstrong and perhaps a representative from the province – to explain exactly “how the [emergency response] system is prescribed,” including the idea of “seamless” coverage and Erin’s geographical location at the far end of the Guelph-Wellington coverage area.
Maieron guaranteed he would attend such a meeting, likely with a standing-room- only crowd of local residents.
Whitcombe had originally moved that the new ambulance “be included in the 2010 budget,” but agreed to change the wording to “be referred to the 2010 budget process” after Farbridge said she could not support the original wording.
While the county and city would split the costs for the new ambulance, ultimate approval of the 2010 ambulance budget lies with Guelph council.
At Erin council on Sept. 14, Chapman said county officials should make a presentation on behalf of Erin during Guelph’s budget deliberations.
“They have a lot more clout than we do,” he said of the county, adding it’s the county that “spends [Erin’s] money” at the ambulance committee – so it should be the upper tier’s responsibility to lobby for the Erin ambulance.
Councillor Barb Tocher agreed, and Finnie said he would try to arrange something with the county.
