WHEREAS the majority of local governments in BC deliver Emergency Medical Services EMS through their fire departments under the Emergency Medical Assistant First Responder program; AND WHEREAS EMS delivery is the responsibility of the provincial government through the Emergency Health Services Commission and the British Columbia Ambulance Service; AND WHEREAS local governments receive no compensation from the Province for their contribution to the EMS system: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province provide a mechanism for local governments to recover costs incurred in the fulfillment of this provincial responsibility.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH SERVICES The Ministry of Health Services currently provides over 215,000 annually to cover the training costs of emergency medical assistant first responders, all of whom are volunteers, to provide emergency, pre-hospital patient care. The program ensures patients receive timely assistance in situations where first responders are the first to arrive on the scene, ahead of BC Ambulance Service paramedics who are able to respond to the full extent of the medical emergency. In 200304, a total of 900 first responders received this training, at no cost to themselves. Providing this training funding helps to ensure that this volunteer corps has the skills it requires to provide top quality, pre-hospital emergency assistance.