WHEREAS the Provincial Health Services Authority PHSA within the Ministry of Health made the unilateral decision to change service delivery for the BC Ambulance Service BCAS has created an unprecedented downloading of costs and risk onto Local Government first responders; AND WHEREAS the October 2013 changes by BCAS to the Resource Allocation Plan RAP has created a negative impact on response time and patient safety: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of BC develop an effective, well integrated, patient-centred emergency response service for our citizens provided by fire and rescue services and BC Ambulance Service working together.
Ministry of Health The Province of British Columbia appreciates your concern for fiscal accountability, as your local governments continue to determine how to best allocate funding and resources in terms of responding to urgent and routine calls. The Province is committed to effective, well-integrated, patient-centered emergency response services. Since the changes were implemented, BC Emergency Health Services BCEHS has been able to respond to patients with urgent care or injuries one minute faster, on average. Patients with non-urgent conditions are waiting approximately six minutes longer for an ambulance. Municipalities and fire departments were invited to submit any concerns regarding the Resource Allocation Plan RAP for operational and clinical review. Upon reviewing the almost 140 cases submitted, BCEHS was able to determine that patients received the response appropriate for their medical condition and that no negative patient outcomes could be attributed to the changes. BCEHS continues to identify possible performance improvement opportunities that may enhance the quality of a patients experience of care. BCEHS has been actively reaching out to concerned municipalities over the last several months and will continue to consult with local governments and first responders throughout the Province about the changes to the RAP. BCEHS is committed to providing timely, high quality and safe pre-hospital care for patients throughout BC while using public resources in an effective and efficient manner.