EDMONTON — Emergency service vehicles need better communication equipment so that firefighters can talk to ambulance operators during an emergency, says Neil Wilson of Nanton.
Wilson told the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties’ spring convention that two wildfires 100 kilometres apart once stretched emergency services in the Municipal District of Willow Creek to the limit. High winds, flipped semi trucks and the threat of fire to humans and livestock created a crisis situation.
What made matters worse was county and fire officials had no way of contacting staff in the ambulances, Wilson said while discussing a resolution at the convention.
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“We could see the ambulance three-quarters of a mile away, but we had no way of contacting them,” said Wilson.
Municipalities used to administer rural ambulance services, but two years ago the provincial government shifted ambulance responsibility and communication to Alberta Health Services.
However, Wilson said no way was left for first responders to talk to each other in an emergency.
Wilson’s resolution requested that the provincial government help find and fund solutions to the communication troubles. It passed with 93 percent in favour.
Rural municipalities, which often find themselves in a bidding war to attract scarce medical professionals, want the province to help encourage medical staff to rural areas.
“There is no such thing as universal health care for rural areas,” said Vulcan County councillor Rod Ruark.
Municipalities build facilities, supply homes and offer financial incentives to encourage doctors to move to their communities.
“The situation is getting worse,” said Ruark.
Instead, the provincial government should live up to the spirit of the Canada Health Act and ensure all Albertans have good quality health care.
“They have to try and make it attractive to get rural people to have the same medical care as urban people,” said Rick Geschwendt, also a Vulcan councillor.
The Vulcan hospital is down from five to two doctors, and those are close to retirement.
“We are having the dickens of a time. We need doctors to keep our hospital and emergency room open.”
Geschwendt said he talked to councillors in rural areas between Calgary and Banff who don’t have the same difficulty attracting and keeping doctors because of the close vicinity to the mountains and the big city.
They can’t move mountains closer to Vulcan, but they’re hoping the government can help find ways to encourage doctors to move and stay in rural areas.
Livestock producers in northern Alberta want the provincial government to reopen the mothballed regional veterinary diagnostic lab in Fairview and repair and reactivate the large animal incinerator.
“Currently there is no diagnostic service or incineration service in the northwest part of Alberta,” said MD of Fairview councillor Peggy Johnson.
“When the vet lab was operating, it provided a necessary and well-used service to local livestock producers and veterinarians throughout the Peace.”
The diagnostic lab was built in 1970 as part of Alberta Agriculture’s regional diagnostic service for livestock producers.
Services were downgraded over the years, and the lab closed in 1999.
Now, only elk heads can be dropped off at the lab to be tested for chronic wasting disease.
All diagnostic testing is sent to a lab in Saskatchewan.
A small, portable incinerator is used to dispose of the elk heads.
More than $1.5 million was spent to renovate and rebuild a large animal incinerator, but it is still not functioning.
Alberta agriculture minister Evan Berger said his office has discussed reopening the diagnostic lab, but he didn’t know about the non-functioning incinerator.
“That incinerator is news to me. I didn’t know we had something sitting unused and unavailable. I’ll get right on that and see what we can do because I think they probably go hand in hand with diagnostic services,” said Berger.
“We’ve talked about the diagnostic lab and there’s hope of that, but I don’t know what our timeline is.… It’s good they brought it up and it’s good that we’re informed of it. That gives me the ground roots backing to stand up and have that discussion.”
