Leaders across the district want more consultation when it comes to the city’s plans for ambulance service.
City council approved a recommendation by Superior North EMS Monday to expand coverage in Thunder Bay and consult with district municipalities before any changes can happen to service in the district. The city heard from several mayors and councillors from across the region Monday who said the first time they had heard of the recommendation, approved by council 10-1, was a few weeks ago at a Thunder Bay District Municipal League meeting. Superior North EMS operates in 15 municipalities throughout the district including Thunder Bay.
“We have a separation of rural service being offered and an urban service being offered,” Schreiber mayor Don McArthur told council. “We need the consultation with you as decision makers… there’s no opportunity to do that tonight.”
Terrace Bay mayor Mike King said his town suffered a terrible catastrophe recently when a man was killed at Terrace Bay Pulp. Although some options outlined in the report to council would close some district stations and amalgamate others, King said there are tragedies that aren’t reflected numbers of calls that could be affected if paramedic service isn’t available.
“When the bean counters start talking about statistics they don’t take those catastrophes into account,” he said.
King said the city should consider public meetings on paramedic service in the district, not just consultation with political leaders.
“That’s would I would like to see out of this,” King said.
The city is facing enormous pressure from increased calls and changing demographics EMS chief Norm Gale told council. And non-urgent transfers, something Superior North EMS isn’t mandated to do but has traditionally done is eating up paramedic time. 15 per cent of calls in the city and up to 50 per cent in the district are for non-emergency transfers. That along with off-load delays at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, have led to a system that’s overworked Gale said.
Mayor Keith Hobbs asked Gale what would have happened if there had been more injuries in Terrace Bay. Gale said other ambulances would have been deployed from around the region but response times can range from ten minutes to two hours.
“We would do the best we can with what we have,” Gale said.
Hobbs said he would never want to see any services reduced in the region.
‘I can’t even imagine waiting an hour for an ambulance,” Hobbs said. “Every moment counts when you’re talking about human life.”
Coun. Aldo Ruberto said he didn’t want Thunder Bay to become the “Toronto of the north” where other municipalities felt like they weren’t being listened to. Coun. Rebecca Johnson, who sat on the committee with EMS that made the recommendation to expand service in Thunder Bay, said she takes responsibility for thinking that other municipal leader had been consulted.
“It is not a Thunder Bay decision Thunder Bay makes the decision but it implicates the whole region,” Johnson said.
Council will consider a $1 million increase to the Superior North EMS’s $18 million budget in 2012 for a new ambulance. Any decisions made about the district stations will be made with consultation from the district.
