An advocate for EMS service in Alberta says he's disappointed with what he heard Monday from Health Minister Jason Copping.

Copping, and Alberta's Chief Paramedic Darren Sandbeck, announced a ten-point plan aimed at improving service.

But Don Sharpe says rural communities are still being robbed of their ambulances.

"The ambulances from High River and Okotoks are going to get flexed into the city to do calls and EMS is talking about how some EMS dispatch protocol that's magical is going to end that, I have no faith that this is going to happen," said Sharpe.

He says the co-chair of the committee Highwood MLA RJ Sigurdson knows the issues and he has a great deal of faith in him but is skeptical he'll be able to make the needed changes.

Sharpe says the whole process starts from the premise that a major part of the problem is there's been a 30 per cent increase in call volume.

"RJ has looked at the stats for Foothills County, for High River, Okotoks, Priddis, Black Diamond, there is no 30 per cent call volume, that is a city problem, and for the city of Calgary and for AHS to continue to raid the resources of rural communities and to take them into the city, at the expense of the rural communities, I think is shameful," he says.

He doesn't hold out much hope that things will change a lot.

"When the government makes a big announcement everybody's got hope, lots of the paramedics I've talked to have said 'well Don why don't we just give them a chance and hope that they can do it' well, I don't want to rain on anybody's parade and heaven knows during this time we need to give people some hope but I just think they're looking down the wrong end of the barrel and I don't think there's any real help coming."

He says in 2014 rural ambulances were picking up about two per cent of the calls in the city and now that's up to 20 per cent and is just getting worse.

READ MORE: High River establishes Citizen's Action Committee

 

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