WHEREAS the BC Ambulance Service has made it known that further service cuts are anticipated to BC Ambulance Services; AND WHEREAS there has already been a reduction of staffing by the BC Ambulance Service to the residents of British Columbia over the past five years: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request that the Province of British Columbia restore funding to the BC Ambulance Service to the point where citizens of this province can expect a timely response from qualified personnel throughout the province.
BC AMBULANCE SERVICE Professional emergency health responders are authorized by the Emergency Medical Assistant Licensing Board to act within the scope of their license. License categories in ascending order of degree and complexity of knowledge and skills, include: First Responder FR, Emergency Medical Responder EMR, Primary Care Paramedic PCP and Advanced Care Paramedic ACP. A previous lower license category of Emergency Medical Assistant First Aid, was eliminated. Although FRs, EMRs and potentially paramedics can be trained at different institutions, they are all subjected to the same license process and therefore must meet a common standard. All training programs are constructed to conform to the National Occupational Competencies Profile NOCP developed by the Paramedic Association of Canada and endorsed by the Canadian Medical Association. The minimal requirement for a FR usually employed by a municipal fire department is a current FR license. Although there are three levels of first responder designation, a recent recommendation to condense into one FR level has been accepted in principle by the Emergency and Health Services Commission on the recommendation of the Cameron Report. The minimum requirement to attend to patients on a BC Ambulance call is Emergency Medical Responder. The BCAS is working toward increasing the baseline knowledge and skill of all paramedics to the Primary Care Paramedic level but there are locations in the Province of British Columbia Province where only EMRs are currently available. Despite licensing levels providing a core foundation of skills and knowledge, each employer is obligated to define the quality of care. One employer may require a higher standard of care but none will fall below the license level standard for that particular category. The EMA Licensing Board provides the standardization of licensing levels to ensure that, despite where training occurred, a minimum standard is met. The licensing process is used to ensure that responders from other provinces meet British Columbia standards. Since programs in the Province meet national standards, licensing in other provinces for those trained in British Columbia should be a relatively easy process. BC AMBULANCE SERVICE There have been no cuts to the BC Ambulance Service BCAS. To the contrary, BCAS is looking at ways of improving its service delivery through a number of innovative methods: Moving from pager to standby: In November, 2004, a Memorandum of Agreement MOA was signed between the Emergency and Health Services Commission and the Ambulance Paramedics of BC CUPE Local 873. The MOA permitted vacant, full-time positions to be reclassified to standby and the savings redirected towards enhanced service delivery. In 2005, 48 remote ambulance stations were upgraded to rural designation with paramedics standing by at stations 247, at the rate of 10.00 per hour, and increased to their full paramedic rate for a minimum of three hours when called to respond. The previous deployment model involved a blended approach to staffing, with some paramedics working full-time and others on pager. The introduction of the standby shift for one ambulance per rural station has improved the average response time by approximately 15 per cent in rural communicates throughout British Columbia The second ambulance at the rural station is staffed by paramedics on pager. The main criteria used in reviewing the designations included: call volumes, geography, remoteness, proximity to other ambulance stations and health authority designation of facilities that are in the area. Paramedic pay on pagers: Paramedics working in remote stations and those in rural stations who are on pager, not standby are paid 2 per hour to carry a pager and be available to respond to and emergency call. When called out, they receive a minimum of four hours pay at their hourly paramedic rate. Prior to 2001, paramedics working in remote stations received no on call pay. Full-time vs part-time unit chief position in rural stations: A review of the unit chief position has been underway for several months and a decision on next steps is expected soon. While the MOA included the provision to achieve cost savings through attrition of full-time positions to part-time at rural stations, the BC Ambulance Service has not made any permanent staffing adjustments to date. All positions have continued to be filled by staff receiving full pay for all hours. All unit chief duties have been performed by paramedics who have been assigned the acting unit chief role. Increased funding over the four years means more staff, more equipment: The budget has been increased by 57 percent in the last six years. The budget for the BCAS is 283.5 million in 200708 vs 181 million in 200102. Between 200304 and 200607, the number of pre-hospital ground events, including responses to emergencies, has increased by almost 90,000, from 432,283 to 521,000 events. The number of air ambulance events has increased by almost 880 from 7,416 to 8,295. Since 200102, the number of hours of service provided by paramedics and dispatchers has increased by 36 percent to meet this increased demand. The total number of paramedics and dispatchers has increased by 915 from 2,436 to 3,351. Since 200102, the total number of ambulances and support units has increased from 463 to 506.