Report to Joint Council May 1st, 2012

Information to Save the Second Ambulance in Preeceville Saskatchewan

Report to Joint Council May 1^st, 2012

Background

How do we manage risk? When do we think about risk? Or plan for risk? Our Emergency Services do each and every day. Most of us spend time in the same place each day: 75% at home or in our community, 25% at work. Preventable accidents account for 400 incidents each day in Saskatchewan.
Where do you live? What is the quality of your water and food? What life style do you live? Many in this area work away, and then begin that second shift on the farm or other job. Stats tell us we are 5 times more likely to have preventable accidents at home or after work. Do you have active children? Elderly loved ones in the community? How long would you deem reasonable to wait for an ambulance in their time of crisis? We need ambulance services.
On Tuesday, March 20th, 2012, the owner of the Preeceville Ambulance Care informed us that he had reduced staff and we would be down to one ambulance as of May 1st 2012. We have been working hard to find the reasons why. To date questions from the public have been pointed and important. What would you ask the Health District about this cut to ambulance service in our community?
This area has an older population, which needs more transfers than the average. We are 3 to 4 hours away from Regina or Saskatoon. So working on the average transfers and accidents for the area, we will have no ambulance each day for 8 hours. The risk is higher for folks living outside the town. Coverage for emergencies will have to come from services in Canora, Kamsack or Kelvington.... Thirty to forty-five minutes away... Three experienced staff will be lost in this cut. Ask anyone who has needed our local service what they think. Very good and proud to have that level of staffing right here in town. Nothing but the best of timely service.
We are a community that comes together to plan, serve and protect each other. This system is not perfect. It is not funded to the right level and we can always do more with less. One area that we need to take more responsibility for is our governments, at all levels. To work together improving and simplifying bureaucracy. In this case, universal access to quality healthcare through our ambulance service and ambulance personnel. The Town of Preeceville and other local governments understand the dissatisfaction of the public while we manage this important issue. As a community looking at and after ourselves, it seems like downloading again. If we want it, we must pay for it locally. Case in point: Preeceville fire department. In 2005 we had a defensive fire department. Over the past 6 years and through investment of money and training, we have an offensive department that can enter burning buildings. Doing the same with our health system that meets the needs of each community and our aging is very important.
To conclude, as we move to more home health care with less in hospital stays because of financial resources, it is key to have our current ambulance and personnel levels maintained. Be assured that the Town of Preeceville is doing everything in our power to ensure the safety of the public and proper emergency coverage is provided for the public. We are available to meet with anyone wishing to discuss the issue. Please put any questions in writing.

Update

After the Sunrise Health Region announced that the Preeceville Ambulance service will be reduced from two staffed units to one staffed unit we held a number of meetings. We found the reduction in emergency response services has been very concerning to the residents of Preeceville and surrounding area.

·         There have been no funding cuts by the Ministry of Health for EMS in Preeceville and the surrounding area, so why is the health region taking away historic funding for our town and area.

·         Call volumes have increased by 46% in the past five years, which keeps the ambulance service busy and also available for the safety and peace of mind of the community.

·         Due to the geographic location of Preeceville, response times for back up EMS will be too excessive (greater than 30 minutes) and in most cases, it will not be a paramedic ambulance service.

·         The Preeceville Ambulance service is a leader in providing EMS in a rural setting by providing a Paramedic ambulance service with 2 staffed ambulances. Why should we allow a degradation of the ambulance service to meet the lower standards in the province?