BR Mba EMS Stations – CP

Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire
Jun 30, 2017

WINNIPEG – A total of 18 emergency medical services stations in rural Manitoba will close under provincial government plans to make the system more efficient.

The province says the stations are being shuttered due to their low volumes.

Five new ones will be set up in Miniota, Cowan, Alonsa, Manigotogan and Eriksdale, while stations in Virden and Glenboro will be enhanced.

The government also intends to hire of 29 new, full-time, primary-care paramedics.

Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen (GUHRT’-zehn) says the changes were recommended in a 2013 report on the province’s emergency medical services system.

He says the transformation could take 10 years to implement, but it will improve response times because ambulances will be more strategically located and staffed.

The Paramedic Association of Manitoba says it supports the plan.

But the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, which represents rural paramedics, says the 29 hires are only a small step toward employing the 400 it believes are actually needed.

Word of the E-M-S changes comes after the province announced the creation of Shared Health Services Manitoba, which will centralize some of the functions currently administered by the province’s five regional health authorities. (CBC)

(The Canadian Press, Online Out)

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