Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a press conference, in Edmonton, on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. The Alberta government is hoping to improve ambulance response times by having community shuttles and wheelchair-accessible taxis transport some patients. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
CALGARY – The Alberta government is hoping to improve ambulance response times by having community shuttles and wheelchair-accessible taxis transport some patients.
Premier Danielle Smith announced the provincewide program today to free up ambulances and paramedics so they can respond to emergency calls more quickly.
She says the program, which has been operating in some areas for the past six months, will allow Alberta Health Services to use “alternate modes of transportation” for non-emergency patient transfers.
Dr. John Cowell, who was appointed as the official administrator of AHS after the governing board was fired a month ago, says that transportation could include community shuttles, wheelchair-accessible taxis and modified vans that could properly secure stretchers.
He says the program has reduced ambulance transfers by about 15 per cent during its test phase in several Alberta communities and could help to free up space in hospitals.
Opposition NDP health critic David Shepherd says he doesn’t expect the announcement to help the ongoing crisis in the health-care system, which also includes staffing shortages, long surgical wait times and overcrowded emergency rooms.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2022.
