There's a tenuous relationship with the truth and AHS EMS.
Leadership teams in public health must embody accountability, trust, integrity, and honesty. They must be transparent about their decisions and take responsibility for outcomes. Trust is paramount, with communities relying on leaders to prioritize their well-being based on evidence and ethics. Ethical conduct, including honesty, fairness, and consistency, is essential. Open communication about challenges, resources, and potential outcomes maintains public trust.
So what happens if that does not happen?
When a paramedic came forward to sound the alarm about EMS staffing on New Year's Eve in 2023, specifically the lack thereof, the response from AHS was deplorable. They were presented with the reality that 20 ambulances were slated to be struck from the schedule on New Year's Eve, but their response when approached by CTV is of extreme concern.
In a shocking display of negligence, Alberta Health Services (AHS) attempted to conceal a critical shortage of paramedics during the holidays, leaving numerous shifts unfilled. Reports reveal that 64 paramedic shifts were vacant on Christmas Day and 53 on New Year's Eve, endangering emergency response services in Calgary. AHS's alleged cover-up and inadequate response underscore a concerning lack of transparency and accountability within the organization, raising serious doubts about its ability to prioritize public safety and effectively manage healthcare resources.
So what did AHS not want to say? Well, on New Year's Eve 2023, there were 34 ambulances shut down due to 67 vacant shifts in the Calgary Zone. They attempted to add 8 additional EMS resources on New Year's Eve, but were only able to staff 4, and most were single paramedic response vehicles. This is with 515 casual hours filled, equivalent to 43 shifts, and 376 overtime hours equivalent to 31 shifts. Cutting through the noise, there's one further figure of greater concern: 74 shifts that would have otherwise been filled with regular full-time staff did not come to work that day, on top of the 67 shifts that could not be filled.
Why lie then? Well, what can be established objectively is the statement that AHS EMS made to CTV, and what can further be established objectively are the aforementioned metrics. There's no way to know why they would not have shared this publicly when asked directly, but a question that can be asked is what's changed? Let's compare those 2023 numbers to the 2018 numbers. On New Year's Eve 2018, there was a single shutdown ambulance, and in 2019 there were four. In 2018, there were two vacant shifts, and in 2019, eight. In 2018, there were five extra ambulances. 2018 and 2019 saw 415 hours and 494 casual hours, respectively; furthermore, 208 and 64 hours of overtime, respectively. One could deduce that the official explanation might be COVID, but if the recent history of AHS's management's storied history is any indication, the reason is a failure of leadership. They failed their staff, but as they failed the public on New Year's 2023.
So what's the outcome of all this? Beyond the strain on resources? It's a negative feedback loop. It creates more strain on the staff that remain, pulls resources from smaller outlying communities, degrading their EMS services, and only tarnishes the trust and faith that everyone places in the EMS system. We’re watching now, and though the reach might be small, the truth deserves to be shown the light of day in hopes that people will share this story far and wide, and the change will be demanded of AHS EMS Leadership.
When these holiday events come we will be watching, and eagerly hoping and praying that there will not be a story to share, the next New Years Eve, long weekend, Stampede, Christmas etc will be as boring as 2018 and our mission will end.
This was shared with us after the CTV story dropped and think it is worth a read if you want to see the process of AHS EMS crisis management to evade just telling the truth.
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