HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2014-02-26, Page 3Wednesday, February 26, 2014 • Huron Expositor 3
Some long wait times for EMS in wintry January
Dispatch
troubles
continuing for
area
Paul Cluff
QM! Agency
A tough winter has had its
effects on the county's ambu-
lance service, causing some
delays, including a
285 -minute wait for one call.
Huron County council was
presented with response
times for January at their
committee of the whole day
2 meeting on Wed. Feb. 19.
EMS chief Dave Lew said
some of the delays this win-
ter are due to weather condi-
tions. A call that came in at 8
p.m. on Jan. 24 was not
attended to until 12:45 a.m.
the following morning.
Lew explained that
weather was to blame for
that particular call.
"We were dealing with
road closures, trying to get
through the snow to begin
with, then around the differ-
ent roads to get to the appro-
priate location," he told the
Signal Star.
Lew said that due to
weather, EMS was in a code
yellow situation: the service
was down to three ambu-
lances from the full compli-
ment of five at that time.
Environment Canada
reported a temperature of
minus 30, with winds gusting
as high as 80 kilometres per
hour on that date.
Another call on Jan. 24
required 90 minutes for EMS
to arrive.
Eight calls last month took
50 minutes or longer.
Lew told council that an
EMS staffer was stuck at a
station due to weather with-
out enough food to last past
a 12 -hour shift. A staffer sug-
gested having enough sup-
plies in the event they are
storm -stayed.
Lew also discussed diffi-
culties with dispatch services
- provided by the Central
Ambulance Communication
Centre (CACC) in London
that began before EMS was
downloaded to the upper
tiers in 2001.
For more than a dozen
years, discussions, originat-
ing from Middlesex and
Oxford counties, have been
ongoing about downloading
the London communica-
tions centre. Though the
Ministry of Health and Long -
Term Care blocked the move
in 2002/03, Ottawa and Nia-
gara EMS have since swayed
the ministry to operate their
own dispatch systems. The
ministry seems receptive,
Lew's report stated.
Coun. Ben Van
Diepenbeek (Ashfield-Col-
borne-Wawanosh) suggested
using caution if approaching
the government about down-
loading anything.
"I don't trust the province
(with downloading)."
Lew said Huron EMS have
not approached the province
but he suggested the same
problems exist in Huron and
Middlesex -London.
EARLY
REGISTRATION
Come Join the Excitement
Seaforth Minor Hockey Association Early
Registration for the 2014/2015 Season:
SAT. MARCH 1, 2014 Noon - 5pm
At the Seaforth District Community Centre
Early Registration is required for Representative Players.
A later registration will be held in spring, date to
be confirmed.
Icheck out the Seaforth Stars website
www.c4thstars.ca for more information
"We have tried to solve our
concerns about dispatch and
deployment with our
regional dispatcher," he told
council.
Coun. Paul Klopp (Blue -
water) said problems could
arise in-house or through a
regional centre. "Sometimes
in-house you don't hear the
Huron County council met Wed. Feb. 19.
SEAFORTH
MINOR
SOCCER
REGISTRATION
House League and Travel
SAT. MARCH 1
10 a.m. - noon
Seaforth & District Community
Centres
Additional information and
registration forms can be found
on the Screamin' Eagles
website at
seaforthminorsoccer.webs.com
or by contacting Dan or Carolyn
at 519-522-0114
arguments but there are still
problems."
Lew said there has been a
large turnover in manage-
ment and ambulance call
officers at the regional
centre.
All eight of the EMS opera-
tions under the London
communications centre have
expressed the same concerns
raised by Middlesex -London
to the centre's management
and the emergency health
branch field office, with little
or no change in the system,
his report said.
The challenges identified
significantly impact how any
EMS program is able to oper-
ate given that the London
CACC has repeatedly failed
to follow the deployment
strategies that have been
provided to them and agreed
to by their management, the
report states.
If the ministry approves,
the Middlesex CAO and EMS
Chief will approach each
municipality to consider a
shared governance model
for a Middlesex -London
operated dispatch centre.
Council received the
report for information
purposes.
"We should be aware of
what is going on in our
neighbourhood," Lew said
after addressing council. "We
have had some (dispatch)
problems...and I will leave it
at that."
THANK YOU
A big thank you to the Seaforth community
for making our Family Day Breakfast a success!
We would like to extend a special thank you to
the following businesses that donated
to the event.
Seaforth Fire Department
McIntosh Poultry
Good Choice Appliances
Haggitt Construction
Freeze King
Huron County Egg Producers
Willy's Burger Bar
Stratford Crane Rental
Artech Signs &Graphics
Archies UPI
Exeter-Seaforth Ringette Association
Clinton Minor Baseball
2014 Registration
Saturday, March 1st
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Saturday, March 22nd
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
AT THE CENTRAL HURON COMMUNITY COMPLEX
MIDGETS (BORN 1996-1997-1998) '175
BANTAMS (BORN 1999-2000)
PEEWEE (BORN 2001-2002)
MOSQUITO (BORN 2003-2004)
SENIOR ROOKIE (BORN 2005-2006)
$150
$150
$125
$125
* After April 1st - Add $25
FOR MORE DETAILS GO TO
www.clintonminorbaseball.ca