There's been considerable discussion since the announcement was made regarding a regulatory exemption allowing firefighters to drive ambulances in extenuating circumstances.
A memo circulated to all EMS Services in Manitoba clearly states that the use of firefighters to drive ambulances must be restricted to exceptional circumstances and is not to be used as a means of addressing operational challenges such as staffing. Manitoba Health also released a Treatment Guideline that very clearly defines the parameters around how this order may be used:
- Regions/Services must have a policy in place that limits use of the Order to occasions where:
- Both EMS crew members are required to actively provide care in response to a serious threat to life and/or limb, AND
- Additional EMS resources are not immediately available and cannot be dispatched to arrive in time to address the threat to life or limb.
- The Region/Service must file a written occurrence report with Manitoba Health within 5 days of the incident.
I’m very confident that the intent is only to give licensed EMS providers the legal ability to obtain appropriate assistance in extraordinary circumstances to act in the best interests of their patients. I would ask that members notify us any time they become aware of instances where firefighters are asked to drive an ambulance. PAM certainly plans to monitor this situation, and if we suspect this procedure is being abused in any way we will make our concerns known to Manitoba Health and the Minister.
As was appropriately pointed out to me by a colleague this morning….this can’t be viewed as a solution to resource problems that might exist in our EMS system. And I concur. We need to continue to lobby government for increased resources where needed and a more centralized management of those resources to ensure consistent, timely and appropriate care for all our patients!
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