Geo-Positioning of Ambulances in Manitoba needs to be revisited

Thursday April 19 I spoke, in a Members Statement, on emergency medical services in rural Manitoba and the need to revisit the current plan to geo-position ambulances away from communities. My comments are on video at this link, or in text from Hansard below:

Geo-Positioning of Ambulances

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Madam Speaker, I rise to talk about the government's approach to geo-positioning ambulances at sites which are far away from the communities they serve.

The government's approach would have paramedics and ambulances positioned around the clock at what are called geo-positioned sites derived from a computer. These sites are often a considerable distance from any community and where population density is low. While paramedics are positioned at these sites they are waiting for emergency calls, but are not able to contribute in other ways to health care because they are some distance from any community.

The alternative, Madam Speaker, is exemplified by the situations in Boissevain and Grandview. Here, close to the highest local population density and, in particular, the highest density of seniors who are the most likely to need an ambulance for heart attacks or strokes, paramedics are stationed in the community. Because the ambulance station is within or close to the hospital complex, paramedics contribute to care within the hospital when there's not an emergency call for them to attend. This is helpful and adds to the quality of health care that's available. Average ambulance response times are quick. I'm told it is only six minutes in Boissevain. I'm also told having the paramedics and ambulances on call and available during the night in town works well in Boissevain.

I ask the government to do what Reg Toews suggested in his report: complete a full consultation with people before committing to implementing the geo-positioning system. It may work well for Nova Scotia, but may not be optimum for health care in Manitoba.

Comments

Dougald Lamont speaks at Meth Forum last night to present positive ideas to address the epidemic, while exposing the lack of action by the Pallister Conservatives

Last night at the Notre Dame Recreation Centre in St. Boniface, at an Election Forum on the Meth Crisis in Manitoba, Dougald Lamont spoke eloquently about the severity of the meth epidemic and described the Liberal plan to address it. The Liberal Plan will make sure that there is a single province-wide phone number for people, or friends of people, who need help dealing with meth to call (as there is in Alberta) and that there will be rapid access to a seamless series of steps - stabilization, detoxification, treatment, extended supportive housing etc so that people with meth addiction can be helped well and effectively and so that they can rebuild their lives. The Liberal meth plan will be helped by our approach to mental health (putting psychological therapies under medicare), and to poverty (providing better support). It will also be helped by our vigorous efforts to help young people understand the problems with meth in our education system and to provide alternative positive

Manitoba Liberal accomplishments

Examples of Manitoba Liberal accomplishments in the last three years Ensured that 2,000 Manitoba fishers were able to earn a living in 2020 (To see the full story click on this link ). Introduced a bill that includes retired teachers on the Pension Investment Board which governs their pension investments. Introduced amendments to ensure school aged children are included in childcare and early childhood education plans moving forward. Called for improvements in the management of the COVID pandemic: · We called for attention to personal care homes even before there was a single case in a personal care home. · We called for a rapid response team to address outbreaks in personal care homes months before the PCs acted. · We called for a science-based approach to preparing schools to improve ventilation and humidity long before the PCs acted. Helped hundreds of individuals with issues during the pandemic including those on social assistance

The Indigenous Science Conference in Winnipeg June 14-16

June 14 to 16, I spent three days at the Turtle Island Indigenous Science Conference. It was very worthwhile. Speaker after speaker talked of the benefits of using both western or mainstream science and Indigenous science. There is much we can learn from both approaches. With me above is Myrle Ballard, one of the principal organizers of the conference. Myrle Ballard, from Lake St. Martin in Manitoba, worked closely with Roger Dube a professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, and many others to make this conference, the first of its kind, a success. As Roger Dube, Mohawk and Abenaki, a physicist, commented "My feeling is that the fusion of traditional ecological knowledge and Western science methodology should rapidly lead the researchers to much more holistic solutions to problems." Dr. Myrle Ballard was the first person from her community to get a PhD. She is currently a professor at the University of Manitoba and the Director of Indigenous Science

The Gerrard Report

Search This Blog