Medical emergency on Alberta First Nation raises concerns over ambulance shortage

One Alberta politician says atragic situation on an Alberta First Nation west of Calgary raises concerns aboutambulance resources in the province.

On Wednesday, a four-month old girl was found dead and 12other people 10 children and two adults in the same household were discovered ill with "influenza-type symptoms" on the Stoney First Nation west of Calgary.

RCMP said Thursday the adults have been released from hospital, while the 10 children remain in stable condition.

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One of them, a two-year-old girl, remains in serious but stable condition.

The family members will be staying with relatives asRCMPcontinue to hold the house, pending the results of the baby girl's autopsy.The results of that autopsy could be released Friday if completed, but may not be finished until Monday.

Strained system

Dr. David Swann, the MLA for Calgary-Mountain View,thinks the number of ambulances from across the region that responded six in total, including the local ambulance shows how a large incident in or around Alberta's biggestcity can hamper an already strained system.

"Sources indicated a citywide appeal was made to find fiveambulances free to travel an hour out to Morley.This left the city vulnerable to any large patient event and highlights the fact that we cannot safely manage a major disaster," he saidin a news release.

Speaking to CBC News, the Liberal MLA said it's not just the city that's impacted.

"And what that means also for the surrounding communities, which then have to be pulled into Calgary because Calgary is short, then the surrounding communities are short."

Additional resources called in

AHS responded to the allegations by email, saying patient care was not compromised but that "any unplanned, large-scale event can have a temporary impact to resource availability."

The emailed statement, attributed to Randy Bryksa, associate executive director of EMS, clarified the numbers.

He said one crew from Kananaskisand two from Calgary were called in to support two ambulances from the Stoney First Nation.

Two off-duty crews were brought in for extra coverage during the response, he said.

Increased funding

Asked about the issue Thursday, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said she was shocked by the girl's death but that her government has committed additional resources to EMS.

"I believe that we need to do more for our EMS and that's one of the reasons why we're proposing a budget that has a substantial increase to EMS funding," she said.

"It's also why we've expanded the community paramedicine program, to ensure that as many paramedics are available to respond to calls, whether it's having to take someone to hospital or not, if they can provide care closer to home obviously that's better, and why we're also building long-term care spaces, so that our emergency rooms don't face the backlog and paramedics aren't tied up in those emergency rooms."

Union response

The union representing Alberta's paramedics raised the alarm on ambulances shortages in March after receiving documents that showed funding and staffing hasn't kept pace with demand or population increases.

The president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta also said crews from outlying areas are regularly pulled into the cities in order to cover shortages, leaving towns unprotected.

After the provincial budget announced an additional $29 million in fundingEMS, Parker said in a news release that his group would be watching closely to ensure "it goes to the front lines where it's needed."

It's not known at this time if the tragedy on the Stoney First Nation resulted in an ambulance shortage for Calgary or surrounding areas.

First Nation statement

On Friday, the chief of the Wesley First Nation, one of three bands that make up the Stoney, released a statement asking the public and media to respect the privacy of the affected family.

"A more comprehensive and meaningful dialogue must take place on a 'Nation to Nation' level in order to improve the health and wellbeing of our nation's peoples and improve the lives of all Indigenous citizens in this country we call Canada," reads the statement.

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