Alberta to review concerns of four mayors who oppose 911 EMS dispatch consolidation

Alberta's health minister says he will review the concerns of four mayors who say the government's plan to consolidate 911 emergency medical service dispatch services will put lives at risk.

Tyler Shandro met Thursday with Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Red Deer's Tara Veer, Lethbridge's Chris Spearman and Mayor Don Scott of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

The mayors have been lobbying hard against the change, which the province says would save money and make the EMS dispatch service more efficient.

Nenshi says 911 dispatch should be operated at the municipal level because local knowledge and integration with fire services can't be overlooked if safety is the top priority, adding that the merger will impact response times.

"The challenge with what's being proposed by Alberta Health Services here is there's never been a good explanation of why they're proposing it," Nenshi said."If you read Twitter,it's going to say it's because it's going to save them money. But, we were assured today that it's not at all about money and about patient outcomes.

"But, we've never actually heard anyone explain how taking longer to get the responses you need possibly could lead to better patient outcomes."

• 'People will die,' Nenshi warns, as mayors pan Alberta's plan to merge ambulance dispatch
• Shandro stands firm on Alberta EMS dispatch consolidation, refuting Nenshi's claim it will cause delays

Veer, Spearman and Scott say the meeting shows Shandro is willing to seek out additional information from municipalities to understand the effect consolidation would have on local patients, and they hope the province will come to the conclusion that it does not make sense to change the system.

Shandro says it was a good meeting and he will consider what the mayors have told him.

Several attempts by the province to take over EMS dispatch in Calgary in the past decade have been halted by previous health ministers.

The province has said that the transition will take six months and is expected to annually save more than $6 million.