Showing posts with label ambulance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ambulance. Show all posts
Friday, September 09, 2011
Service remembers 9/11 attack victims
Vernon Fire Rescue Service invites the public to attend
a ceremony to remember all of the emergency service and first responder
personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001. The ceremony starts Sunday at 9:45 a.m. This is the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks
in the U.S., and fire service, RCMP, B.C. Forestry, B.C. Ambulance and
search and rescue personnel will march from the ambulance station at
3011 35th Ave. to the fire hall at 3401 30th St. The public is invited to watch the march and take part in a short service afterward, which will include a moment of silence.
Monday, January 18, 2010
COMMISSION DELIVERS REPORT ON B.C. AMBULANCE SERVICE
VICTORIA – The industrial inquiry commission reviewing different service delivery and operational models for the B.C. Ambulance Service, including options on an appropriate collective bargaining structure, has delivered its report to Minister of Labour Murray Coell. Commissioner Chris Trumpy’s report was received by the Minister on Jan. 15, 2010. It also examines issues relating to staff recruitment, training and retention; staff workload and occupational health and safety; deployment strategies; and total compensation for paramedics and dispatchers. The report has been provided to CUPE Local 873, the union representing B.C.’s paramedics and dispatchers, and their employer, the Emergency and Health Services Commission. “Mr. Trumpy has submitted a thoughtful and comprehensive report that will help inform the broader discussion about redesigning the B.C. Ambulance Service and the bargaining relationship between paramedics and their employer,” said Coell. “I have forwarded the report to my colleague, Minister of Health Services Kevin Falcon, who will be reviewing it.”
On Nov. 19, 2009, Trumpy was appointed as a one-person commission under the B.C. Labour Relations Code to examine the B.C. Ambulance Service. The report is non-binding, providing options for further consideration by government to help improve service delivery and the structure of collective bargaining for the Emergency and Health Services Commission and CUPE Local 873. The complete report is available at: : www.labour.gov.bc.ca/pubs/pdf/IIC_Report_Jan_10_2010.pdf.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Paramedics Greet New Health Minister in Vernon
Starlee Speers-Vernon105.7 SUNFM:
Progress is being made on the construction of the new tower at Vernon Jubilee hospital but it appears striking paramedics aren't any closer to resolving their contract issues.Paramedics were protesting outside the hospital in Vernon today while a conference to update media on progress was held at the construction site. Jason Angulo, Strike captain for the North Okanagan says the union had requested a meeting with new Health Minister Kevin Falcon..."...to ask him to appoint a third party mediator to settle this dispute sooner rather than later. That was met with a quick rejection."Kevin Falcon spoke to the media Friday and said the new patient care tower is slightly ahead of schedule.
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Sunday, June 10, 2007
Ambulance gap called critical
By Barb BrouwerMARKET NEWS Staff http://www.saobserver.net/
Jun 08 2007Accusations B.C.’s ambulance service is in need of repair are not justified, according to Health Minister and Shuswap MLA George Abbott. John Strohmaier, president of‑CUPE 873 Ambulance Paramedics, says the state of the service in the province is now in critical condition. “Ambulance systems have simply not kept pace with the growth in population,” says Strohmaier, pointing to the province’s‑aging population that puts enormous pressure on the service. “In area like yours (Salmon Arm) travelling long distances, I think they should have adequate staffing and ambulances to meet ever-increasing demands on ambulance services.”In question is a period of three or four hours in the early morning hours of May 6 when both Salmon Arm cars were responding to emergencies outside of the city, leaving no crew at the local ambulance station.
A third ambulance that was added to the local service in 2005 is not scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. During those hours, one two-person crew stays at the ambulance station while another back-up crew is on-call. With both Salmon Arm ambulances heading for Kamloops, the B.C. Ambulance Service dispatched the one Sicamous ambulance to go to Canoe, where it would be available to respond to calls in Sicamous or Salmon Arm. “This is a fairly common occurrence,” says Cragg, who maintains Salmon Arm’s call volume goes up about 10 per cent per year. “Globally, I don’t agree with how they (BCAS) present their figures. I think we’re thinly spread.” But Abbott disagrees. He points out that the ambulance service is a provincial organization, not a municipal or regional one. One of the benefits of that, he says, is that demand and capacity are balanced by having integrated mutual aid between all ambulance stations in the province. “If we have a surge in demand in some corner, we can shift neighbouring resources so we can have continuing coverage,” he says. “That’s the real benefit, to have one area‑cover off the other.”
Abbott says in the case of the May 6 incident, both Chase ambulances were responding to calls, so the Salmon Arm car was sent to Blind Bay to wait until the Chase ambulances were free. There was a third emergency in Chase and the Salmon Arm ambulance responded from Blind Bay. The second Salmon Arm car was then sent to Blind Bay for standby. But they too had an emergency call so it was at that point the Sicamous ambulance was deployed to Canoe. The third car could have been called out if necessary,” he says. “They normally don’t have multiple calls.” But Cragg has a different perspective. He says it reinforces an argument he has repeatedly had with BCAS. “If the car gets removed, you don’t wait for something to happen, you page another car in immediately, you can’t guess what’s going to happen.”
Meanwhile Cragg, who is the regional union rep, sits on a joint committee that is looking at resources across the province. He says the BC Ambulance Service is looking favourably at increasing resources. “Like any other part of the Ministry of Health, they’re prudent with their dollars,” he says. “At a recent meeting, the approach was positive. I think we’re going to go forward from here.” In terms of recruitment and retention, Strohmaier says many paramedics are close to retirement and he blames the lack of newcomers on the fact the ministry withdrew training funding some 18 months ago. There are a lot of fiscal pressures on the BCAS and as a way to cut costs that’s one of the things they’ve eliminated,” says Strohmaier. The problem is part-time paramedics simply can’t afford the $6,000 to $15,000 to train. Abbott, however, points out that in all other areas of medicine, students pay for their own training.
Jun 08 2007Accusations B.C.’s ambulance service is in need of repair are not justified, according to Health Minister and Shuswap MLA George Abbott. John Strohmaier, president of‑CUPE 873 Ambulance Paramedics, says the state of the service in the province is now in critical condition. “Ambulance systems have simply not kept pace with the growth in population,” says Strohmaier, pointing to the province’s‑aging population that puts enormous pressure on the service. “In area like yours (Salmon Arm) travelling long distances, I think they should have adequate staffing and ambulances to meet ever-increasing demands on ambulance services.”In question is a period of three or four hours in the early morning hours of May 6 when both Salmon Arm cars were responding to emergencies outside of the city, leaving no crew at the local ambulance station.
A third ambulance that was added to the local service in 2005 is not scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. During those hours, one two-person crew stays at the ambulance station while another back-up crew is on-call. With both Salmon Arm ambulances heading for Kamloops, the B.C. Ambulance Service dispatched the one Sicamous ambulance to go to Canoe, where it would be available to respond to calls in Sicamous or Salmon Arm. “This is a fairly common occurrence,” says Cragg, who maintains Salmon Arm’s call volume goes up about 10 per cent per year. “Globally, I don’t agree with how they (BCAS) present their figures. I think we’re thinly spread.” But Abbott disagrees. He points out that the ambulance service is a provincial organization, not a municipal or regional one. One of the benefits of that, he says, is that demand and capacity are balanced by having integrated mutual aid between all ambulance stations in the province. “If we have a surge in demand in some corner, we can shift neighbouring resources so we can have continuing coverage,” he says. “That’s the real benefit, to have one area‑cover off the other.”
Abbott says in the case of the May 6 incident, both Chase ambulances were responding to calls, so the Salmon Arm car was sent to Blind Bay to wait until the Chase ambulances were free. There was a third emergency in Chase and the Salmon Arm ambulance responded from Blind Bay. The second Salmon Arm car was then sent to Blind Bay for standby. But they too had an emergency call so it was at that point the Sicamous ambulance was deployed to Canoe. The third car could have been called out if necessary,” he says. “They normally don’t have multiple calls.” But Cragg has a different perspective. He says it reinforces an argument he has repeatedly had with BCAS. “If the car gets removed, you don’t wait for something to happen, you page another car in immediately, you can’t guess what’s going to happen.”
Meanwhile Cragg, who is the regional union rep, sits on a joint committee that is looking at resources across the province. He says the BC Ambulance Service is looking favourably at increasing resources. “Like any other part of the Ministry of Health, they’re prudent with their dollars,” he says. “At a recent meeting, the approach was positive. I think we’re going to go forward from here.” In terms of recruitment and retention, Strohmaier says many paramedics are close to retirement and he blames the lack of newcomers on the fact the ministry withdrew training funding some 18 months ago. There are a lot of fiscal pressures on the BCAS and as a way to cut costs that’s one of the things they’ve eliminated,” says Strohmaier. The problem is part-time paramedics simply can’t afford the $6,000 to $15,000 to train. Abbott, however, points out that in all other areas of medicine, students pay for their own training.
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