The province signs an agreement with private ambulances to transport patients in Edmonton and Calgary

The Alberta government says new contracts for private ambulance services in the province's major cities will improve emergency care, but critics say bringing more for-profit companies into the health care system could make things worse.

The provincial government on Thursday announced several budget commitments to emergency medical services (EMS), including Calgary's Guardian Ambulance Ltd. and Associated Ambulance and Services (Whitecourt) Ltd. of Edmonton.

The companies transfer non-emergency patients between health facilities in those cities, the report said, adding that each city makes thousands of non-emergency transfers each year.

“This strategic initiative will allow Alberta Health Services to ensure that emergency medical services in Calgary and Edmonton and surrounding areas have access to EMS and paramedic services,” said Health Minister Adriana LaGrange at a related press conference on Thursday.

The contracts will open up 45 new resources to the EMS system in Alberta's two largest cities — 26 in Edmonton, 19 in Calgary, said Marty Scott, executive director of provincial EMS programs at AHS.

They will be phased in starting in June and July, Scott said. They will be fully implemented “by the end of this calendar year.”

In addition to making more AHS ambulances available for emergencies, they should reduce overtime logged by paramedics, he said.

The provincial government is also working to expand interagency transfers in other communities, but the news release did not say where.

Opposition NDP health critic Luann Metz warned in a statement that the decision could steal resources from the public system.

Some front-line paramedics shared with the party that contracting out the service would cripple the state system, while some questioned the records of some of the companies that were awarded the contract, he said.

Metz and Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, an Alberta-based health care advocacy group, cited efforts to privatize health care in Alberta, such as lab services and surgery, to support their concerns.

“Despite clear evidence that privatizing emergency services is not the solution to our problems, the government's decision today is purely political,” Gallaway said. “These services are currently being provided by the state system and there is no reason they should continue.”

Money for an ambulance, reviews

The government has also announced spending on the EMS fleet, as well as a review of the air ambulance and a study into the paramedic workforce.

The budget for 2024 was prepared at the end of February. It included $26.2 billion for the Department of Health this year and a three-year, $35 million spending plan for the EMS Vehicle Capital Program.

The government announced Thursday that $25 million of that money will come this year. It will be used to replace ambulances at the end of their lives and help keep other vehicles running across the province, the release said.

“These investments are critical in increasing system capacity, stability and response time,” LaGrange said at a news conference.

The budget also allocated $2 million for an independent review of Alberta's air ambulance program and a study of the paramedic workforce, the release said.

The air ambulance review will examine many aspects of the system, including response time and efficiency, the release said.

“The Ambulance Review will have a significant impact on rural Albertans,” Martin Long, Alberta's Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health, said at a press conference Thursday.

The workforce survey will also gather feedback from front-line paramedics and emergency communications officers about the challenges they face on the job and how they can improve the workplace, the report said.

It will also survey paramedics about things like mental health support and accessibility and workforce mobility, the release said.

The study seeks to find ways to grow Alberta's paramedic workforce, recommending improvements in recruitment, work environment, retention and training, the release said.

Ambulance funding and the upcoming exams are further evidence that Albertans have a commitment to providing paramedics with what they need to do their jobs well when they need them, Alberta College of Paramedic Registrar Tim Ford said in a news release.