The City of Grande Prairie will be putting forward a resolution regarding medical first response at the Alberta Municipalities Conference this fall. The resolution was put together after the Grande Prairie Fire Department presented to council they had seen an increase in the number of medical calls they respond to, along with an increase in the amount of time they spend on each scene.
Director of Inter-Governmental Affairs Rory Tarrant says the resolution will advocate for more provincial funding for the program.
“There is actually no compensation in providing those services,” Tarrant says. “We’re asking the province to support that component financially.”
“This is just one component of emergency services care, I know the province has been working on improving that area of service within [Alberta].”
A panel was put together by the provincial government to look at how to improve these services across Alberta, and Tarrant says among the recommendations the Medical First Response model was included. He adds the report also highlighted how the program was an important part of delivering medical care across the province.
“We are not asking for a specific financial ask, there is several different models that could be used to fund it. We are just asking that it is put on the province’s radar and that they look at different funding models.”
If the resolution receives support in the fall, then it will be presented to the provincial government for consideration.