HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-06-14, Page 7Ambulance strategy unveiled
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
After months of study, the
Ambulance Deployment
Strategy for Huron County
was unveiled last week in
Blyth and Hensali.
A few dozen local politi
cians and interested residents
attended an open house at
Trinity Anglican Church, in
Blyth. June 6 for the opportu
nity to speak with consultants
and county employees.
Gary Davidson, from plan
ning and development, said
with the provincial download
ing of land ambulance servic
es to the county, there were
two major issues which
brought about the study.
With the county deciding to
operate the service as a single
public entity by consolidating
the existing five-private serv
ices. the county had to deal
with the fact that some periph
eral areas of the county could
not be reached within the 15
minutes-timeframe preferred
by planners.
The largest sections not
covered by Huron County
ambulances are in the eastern
sections of Grey and Howick
Twps. and the northern tip of
Ashfield Twp. Those areas are
currently covered by
Listowel, Palmerston,
Walkerton or Kincardine serv
ices.
The second issue studied
was that of overlapping serv
ices.
Sections in the south of the
county, particularly in the
Zurich and Dashwood areas
are covered by three to four
stations.
In the two options suggest
ed by consultants from Pomax
Inc, and Marshall, Macklin
and Monaghan, dealing with-
a five-year plan, the six sta
tions currently serving the
county would be reduced to
four with relocations.
Under the equity model,
everyone in the county would
have access to 15-minute
service.
Davidson said this might
not be the better choice as it
pulls the stations away from
population concentrations.
The stations would be situ
ated at the intersection of
Hwy. 86 and County Rd. 12
(Brussels Line), north of
Goderich along County Rd.
25 (Blyth Rd.), just west of
Exeter on Hwy 83 and
between Clinton and Seaforth
on County Rd. 8.
The second strategy based
on population density, would
leave the Wingham and
Goderich stations near the
current locations while mov
ing the Dashwood station
nearer Exeter and putting one
station between Clinton and
Seaforth.
This would leave sections
of the county outside the 15-
minute zone, but these could
be picked up by neighbouring
services, said Marshall,
Macklin and Monaghan con
sultant Jim Gough.
Gough noted that these
plans were suggested without
input from Perth or Lambton
Counties as those districts
were not as far along in the
process as Huron County.
The Huron administration
felt it was time to move ahead
with some sort of planning, he
added. “They wanted to be
proactive.”
The focus of the study was
to provide adequate coverage
and hopefully reduces costs,
said Gough.
As well as looking at over
lapping areas and limited
service, Gough said factors
such as demand were includ
ed.
While it was thought there
might be an increase in ambu
lance usage during summer
months due to increased resi
dency along the beaches,
Gough said there was no
marked change in demand.
Both from the Blyth open
house and the earlier Hensali
session, Gough said they were
hearing concerns about sta
tions being located in the mid
dle of nowhere.
Morris Twp. resident Alex
McDougal! questioned the
reliability of service from a
station located along Hwy. 8,
one of the most frequently
closed roads in the county
during the winter months.
Gough admitted winter road
closures had not been factored
in.
Ambulance attendants also
expressed concern about sta
tions built outside urban cen
tres. With attendants working
on-call, they questioned the
added time needed to travel
from their home to stations in
rural areas.
The open houses were held
to gather just such feedback,
said Gough. “The county can
look at the data in a more
informed way and move
ahead gradually.”
He also suggested the coun
ty would have a better idea of
the Huron situation with their
own data rather than that
obtained through the ministry
of health.
Gough said staffing has
been a big coffeern, but that
the staff numbers are to
remain the same as are the
number of ambulances.
However, there may be
changes in hours such as 24-
hours-a-day instead of on-call
and the ambulances could be
relocated around the county.
Davidson said the county
will also look at staffing
issues. There are currently
several ambulance attendants
who work part-time at several
locations.
By consolidating the serv
ice, Davidson said some of
the part-time work could
become full-time under one
agency.
Davidson hoped the transi
tion to the new operation
would begin in July or August
as the province legislated the
take-over by Jan. 1.
Paramedics hope needs are met
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2000. PAGE 7
Rare sight
Dave Smith of the Brussels area called about
two Cecropia moths sunning themselves at Jim
Campbell’s Walton garage. Campbell had dis
covered the moths early in the morning and they
remained in the same spot all day long. The
moths, Canada’s largest, have a wing span of
12cm. (Vicky Bremner photo)
By David Emslie
Clinton News-Record
As Huron County prepares
to take over the operation of
ambulance services at the end
of this year, local paramedics
expressed their hope that the
staff will remain to meet the
needs of the county’s resi
dents.
Two members of the
Seaforth-Clinton Ambulance
Service, Pat Thompson and
Greg Schwindt, responded last
week to the draft discussion
paper regarding the county’s
Ambulance Services
Deployment Strategy.
This initial report, discussed
at public meetings, one of
which was held in Blyth, con
centrated on response times
for ambulances, and where
ambulance stations might be
placed when the county takes
over the service.
With six stations now serv
ing the county, Schwindt
noted that one scenario would
have this number dropped to
four. Thompson said that para
medics understand that money
will be saved by cutting two
ambulance stations, and added
that the change will also allow
for service responses to all
county residents within a 15-
minute time frame.
With the option that would
see four stations in the county,
Thompson explained they
would be located on the edges
of Wingham, Goderich and
Exeter, and either on the edge
of Clinton, or somewhere
between Clinton and Seaforth.
The paramedics said that
their concern with cutting the
number of stations from six to
four lies in the fact that the
same number of people will
still have to be served by those
stations. Thus, they said that
staffing should be kept in
place to meet the county’s
needs.
“With the reduction of sta
tions from six to four, staffing
patterns should enhance our
abilities to respond to emer
gencies to all locations of the
county,” Thompson said, not
ing that over the last five
years, calls for ambulance
service in Huron County have
grown by 25 per cent.
“We’re saying, in cutting
down to four, make sure we
have the staff and staffing pat
terns to reflect the calls that
are still going up,” he said.
Schmidt added, “In other
words, (changes) shouldn’t
hurt the public. The response
should be just as quick.”
As of yet, Schmidt said, no
information is available on
staffing effects with the coun
ty take-over.
With the draft report on
ambulance coverage now out,
Thompson said they are opti
mistic that “hopefully change
will be beneficial for every
one.” He added, “We want the
public to know that changes
are coming and hopefully in
the right direction.”
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