I attended the Manitoba Legislature on Wednesday (November 15th) as a guest of the Health Minister's office to listen to the government Throne Speech. I have to admit that although I didn't expect any detailed announcements regarding emergency medical services, I had hoped to hear a commitment from the government to continue efforts to improve Manitoba's EMS system...unfortunately the only reference to EMS was in regard to the change in inter-facility transfer billing, a promise actually made in their 2005 Throne Speech.
The government stated that health care has been and will continue to be their top priority going into this legislative session. They spoke of investments made to establish world-class facilities in order to be more successful in recruiting and retaining health care professionals. They outlined previous and ongoing investments in training and education for nurses, physicians, LPNs, technologists and other specialists. But throughout, no mention was made of the need for similar investment in our emergency medical services system.
There was, however, one very significant promise made in the Throne Speech that carries with it a glimmer of hope and perhaps opportunity. The government has committed to an independent review of the regional health authority model. This, I think, is an excellent opportunity for the Paramedic Association of Manitoba to express concern over the inconsistencies of our regional EMS systems and the need for a more centralized management and oversight of EMS across the province. When the RHAs were empowered with the responsibility for health care provision in 1996, not all health components were shifted to the RHA model. Not everyone close to government believes EMS should have been moved into the regional model...this review opens the door to further investigating that decision and it's ramifications.
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