The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is committed to providing high-quality emergency services to all residents in its communities in the most cost effective manner.
In a press release sent out Monday afternoon, Chatham-Kent staff say Chatham-Kent Fire and Emergency Services (CKFES) was directed by Council in June 2015 to explore all options for the provision of Fire and EMS services, as the EMS contract was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2016.
Municipal officials say after an extensive service review, CKFES presented three emergency service models to Council on May 16 for their consideration. All of the models presented to Council comply with the Ambulance Act and the Fire Protection and Prevention Act and utilize fully trained and certified paramedics and firefighters.
The service review team is confident that a blended emergency service model will provide the residents of Chatham-Kent with the best level of service, the most cost savings and sustainability into the foreseeable future,” Municipal officials say.
The service review team included different external analysis, including from one of the principle authors for the Toronto Fire and EMS review and the former President for the Paramedic Association of Canada (PAC).
“We understand the concerns in the community and our primary goal is always to ensure high-quality emergency services,” stated Ken Stuebing, Chatham-Kent fire paramedic chief.
“Model C was designed for CK, utilizing the current resources to their fullest potential to deal with our emergency calls and geographical challenges – it is not a cookie cutter proposal. Changing the service delivery model is not an easy decision, but it can be done and we can do it if council chooses to move forward with this option.”
The three service delivery models presented to Council were:
Model A – Status Quo: CKFES remains as is with EMS delivered by a third-party service provider under contract to the Municipality. CK will remain one of the few municipalities in the province to employ this type of EMS service delivery model.
Model B – Direct Delivery Model: EMS delivered directly through the formation of a third emergency service of unionized municipal workers (Police, Fire and EMS under the municipal umbrella), managed and administered with an integrated Fire and EMS management team.
Model C – Direct Delivery Model: A fully blended, composite Fire and EMS service under one management umbrella.
During the service review it was determined that blending Fire and EMS into one service was a viable model and warranted further investigation.
To review a detailed analysis of models A, B or C, locate the Service Review document on www.chatham-kent.ca: http://www.chatham-kent.ca/Council/CouncilMeetings/2016/Documents/May/May-16-12a.pdf
Council directed CKFES to enter into discussions and negotiations with the respective parties and report back to council with more information on the various models and service options.
At this point, CKFES has not made a recommendation to council on which model to pursue.
Municipal officials say if Model A or B is implemented with no additional resources, this will result in a budget increase of more than $1 million per year, and response times for ambulances are also expected to increase.
In order to maintain current ambulance response times, additional resources are required and this will cost up to $2.5 million over the current budget.
In contrast, Model C is anticipated to be between $800,000 and $1.4 million in operational efficiency, depending on the model chosen, than the current budget, Chatham-Kent officials say.
With incremental annual increases, including the same service improvements suggested for Models A and B, it will reach the current budget levels in five years. Over these five years, the tax savings would be roughly $7 million.
“Given the aging population, the diverse geographical area of Chatham-Kent and municipal financial constraints such as the asset management plan, our emergency services are currently under extreme pressure to maintain a high quality of emergency service with the current budget,” Stuebing stated.
“Model C provides a proactive measure to get in front of the problem. It is prudent to examine all options for providing emergency services to the residents of Chatham-Kent.”
On May 16, 2016, council directed staff to discuss or negotiate Model B and C with the respective parties and report back to council on proceeding with Model A, B, or portions or all of C by June 13, 2016.
Based on time constraints, the report to council is expected to be considered on June 27, 2016.
So….. Tell me, if the ambulance service doesn’t buy,sell,or trade any products or materials, where is all this cost savings money coming from. Oh I know, the employees wages, benefits, health care vacation etc etc. So let’s all start telling the whole truth here, what kind of people do this ??? #resentful local medic
So what partners is this guy talking with??? I have friends who are paramedics and they claim to not be contacted. I also have friends on the fire department and they claim to refused to talk with this guy. So who is he talking with???