A provincial Emergency Medical Services (EMS) dispatch call centre has opened in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, marking the return of local dispatch services to the northern Alberta area after several years of centralized service.
The call centre was brought online on Tuesday, as part of a new five-year agreement between the RMWB and Alberta Health Services for continued municipal delivery of ground ambulance services in the region.
“We are thankful to have our dedicated and capable dispatchers again providing this critical service,” regional fire chief Jody Butz said in a news release.
“In a region as large and unique as ours, local knowledge is key for quick and effective dispatch of emergency resources.”
In 2021, the RMWB and three other Alberta municipalities (Calgary, Red Deer and Lethbridge) had to turn over their regional dispatch of EMS to one of three provincial centres.
For years, the RMWB has been fighting for the return dispatch service to the local level. The municipality had raised concerns with the centralized service, including delays in dispatching emergency services and issues with verifying local addresses of the emergency.
“After the transition, we did recognize some issues and a lot of it was around the local knowledge of our region,” Butz said.
“If you’re not from or live and work in this region or in this community, you’re relying on computer-aided information to tell you where a certain landmark is.
“If I was to say, ‘the Bridge to Nowhere,’ I’m not sure if that would be identified if you were to search that on Google maps. But all of our local dispatchers know exactly where to go on that one, and that would save, ‘I’m trying to discover and understand where that is’ and our resources are dispatched timely.”
The RMWB previously said removing local EMS dispatch hurt the health and safety of Albertans and impacted patient outcomes.
RMWB Mayor Sandy Bowman said Tuesday he had the chance to listen to some of the 911 calls that came in over the past few years during the “fight” to bring back local EMS dispatch services.
“Listening to those calls was completely heartbreaking to see people suffering and not be able to get the correct information to our first responders to get to the locations. So right now, the community is extremely excited and happy to have this back.”
Butz said the emergency communications centre has three dispatchers staffed at all times. Those dispatchers answer all 911 calls in the region and dispatch fire and EMS calls accordingly. Callers in need of RCMP services will continue to be transferred to Edmonton, Butz explained.
“Our trained dispatchers have an intimate knowledge of our unique geography within our region, allowing them to dispatch ambulances swiftly and accurately. In emergencies, every second counts and our local expertise ensures a timely response,” Butz said.
In a statement, the interim EMS senior provincial director with AHS said patient care is at the core of every decision the health authority makes.
“This includes our approach to dispatching of EMS services across Alberta. Regardless of where the dispatch centre is located, AHS will collaborate with the municipality to ensure patients are provided seamless access to emergency medical care,” Murray Crawford said.
Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo MLA Tany Yao called the decision to return EMS dispatch to the RMWB a logical one that will result in a more efficient emergency response.
A statement from the Alberta government said there are currently no plans to change EMS dispatch for Red Deer or Lethbridge.
The local EMS dispatch centre will also serve outlying residents, remote communities and industrial sites.
“Today is a great day and another step in the right direction for community resilience for the people that live and work here. We remain tremendously appreciative of the incredible work of our emergency responders across the region,” Bowman said.
RMWB staff will use AHS’s computer-aided dispatching technology and telecommunications equipment at the Fort McMurray facility. This will allow AHS to answer overflow 911 calls to the RMWB that they aren’t able to answer.
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