Whereas the BC Ambulance Service is an integral part of the provincial health care system; And whereas BC Ambulance dispatch services are not provided locally to rural communities in BC; And whereas there are logistical challenges in rural challenges that may be best managed locally: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the provincial Minister of Health to require the BC Ambulance Service to amend its dispatch model to allow for local responders to determine how best to manage a response to an emergency or other calls for service.
Ministry of Health The Ministry of Health and BC Emergency Health Services BCEHS recognize that in remote and isolated communities transporting patients to a BCEHS ambulance for transport to higher levels of care can be challenging. BCEHS is working with a variety communities facing the challenges of transporting patients from rural and isolated areas. However, they are limited by the fact that BCEHS is not the body that determines what actions first responders may take. The Emergency Medical Assistants Licensing Board is the licensing body responsible for determining and enforcing those regulations through provincial legislation. Each license level of emergency responders paramedics is only able to perform very specific actions for which they have been trained. Under the Emergency Health Services Act regulations, the minimum licence level permitted to transport a patient is the Emergency Medical Responder level. BCEHS is currently developing criteria which will help bring clarity to small communities regarding patient transport options. This criterion will help determine the circumstances in which BCEHS would enable the transport of patients with an acceptable ambulance under its guidelines. For example: factors like remoteness, distance and time for crews to respond are all factors being considered as part of the criteria. The criteria is being developed in consultation with fire department representatives in small and remote areas of BC, and will form the basis by which new consent agreements will be developed. These new agreements will clarify the role and scope of First Responders and EMRs in remote and isolated communities, so they can safely provide support for patients in need and their local communities until BCEHS crews can reach them.