1600 name petition demands 24hr ambulance coverage for Meaford
Residents want same service as Markdale, Durham
By Scott Woodhouse - Express Staff

Former Meaford Mayor Doug Grant presented the petition to council on behalf of "a large group of very concerned citizens who feel in jeopardy with regard to the present ambulance service provided from the Meaford hospital site."

Many Meaford residents believed, incorrectly, that the Meaford catchment area had 24-hour ambulance coverage. The Meaford hospital site has two paramedics on duty from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. From 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. paramedics are not on site, but are dispatched on an "on call" basis.

Grant said many local people were under the assumption that the site was staffed 24 hours a days because many of the on-call paramedics choose to stay on site.

"Where it gets confusing is when those ambulance attendants that live a sufficient distance away, which would prevent them from adhering to the provincial call-out time of 10 minutes are on duty, most of these employees have chosen to stay on site," said Grant. "For this, they are compensated $2.10/hr."

"But let me stress: they are not compelled to be on site. The ambulance station at Meaford can remain empty from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.," he added.

Grant said the extra time it would take for a paramedic to arrive on site and leave in the ambulance for an emergency in Camperdown or Duncan Lake, or right here in Meaford, "May well be too late."

"If you compound the problem with a winter snowstorm - I think you can quickly see the fear this arrangement has for us all," he said.

"We want on duty ambulance service 24 hours each and every day. Parity with Markdale and Durham."

Gary Shaw, head of the Grey County Roads Dept., was also in attendance at the meeting. He told council and the petitioners that the province downloaded ambulance services to the county last year.

Shaw said they were told the $7 million cost of the service would be funded 50-50 between municipalities and the province.

"This was not true - there has been a large shortfall," he said.

Bernie Backer, manager of Grey County Emergency Services, explained that the Ministry of Health set its funding based on 1996 levels of service, but then mandated new standards.

This resulted in a catch -22. Any expansion of service was considered an "enhancement" to be paid for by municipalities. But the new provincial standards had to be met nonetheless.

Backer said several areas of the county were not meeting the provincial standard. The entire Southgate-Dundalk area as well as Markdale were having a "negative impact" and were upgraded.

Backer also said reports that service had been reduced in Meaford were incorrect. "Meaford still has the same level of service it has had for the past 20 years," he said.

Backer said the county has been monitoring calls out of Meaford. Since January 1, there have been 101 emergency calls, 31 of which were Code 4 or life threatening. There has been an average of 3.3 calls per night, many of which were standby calls to provide back-up to the Collingwood area.

Backer admitted that local paramedics were staying at the station during their on call, rather than coming in from home at night.

"We have some pretty dedicated paramedics here," he said, adding the local station has kept within the provincial guidelines with a seven-minute response time.

Shaw also added that any increase in service at Meaford would be considered an enhancement and would cost $250,000 more to provide 24-hour coverage.

He said the county was looking at a big shortfall in funding from the Ministry of Health and was putting together a business case for increased funding. "Right now we're looking at 75-25 not 50-50," he said. "It's a shortfall of millions of dollars."

Grant said he realized the county had to work within its budget. "The group with me this evening realizes we don't live in a perfect world. We do realize, however, that we can constantly improve situations through thoughtful consideration and consultation," said Grant. "We know the province has downloaded 50 per cent of the ambulance cost, we know that to rectify the present situation will cost $200,000 or more, we also know the demographics of our area are changing. The influx of retirees to our area will put an ever-increasing demand on this service."

"We realize this is a further ball in the air for this council to juggle, but this ball represents the health and safety of our citizens. We seek council's support at Grey County Council and would ask you to present a resolution on behalf of your constituents," concluded Grant.

Councillor Paul Hutchinson said council should pass a resolution. lobbying the county to improve the local ambulance service.

"I think it's important to move it up to 24 hour coverage - we can't afford not to," said Hutchinson. "I feel it is important that we lobby the county, as Markdale did, to get this service."

Councillor Harley Greenfield commented that the provincial downloading was supposed to be revenue neutral and assumed other municipalities were in the same predicament. "Is there a coalition forming to knock on the door at Queen's Park?" he asked.

Deputy Mayor Robert Reid said he had seen figures from the Health Unit that revealed the population of the urban area of Meaford had the oldest average age in the province.

"This demographic has a high number of ambulance calls" he said.

Mayor Gerald Shortt asked Grant if his delegation would be attending council meetings in The Blue Mountains and Grey Highlands, seeking their support since they are also part of the Meaford catchment area. Grant replied they were looking for Meaford council to carry the banner.

Council passed a resolution to request the county to examine the feasibility of upgrading the Meaford ambulance service to 24 hours a day.