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Times Advocate, 1993-01-13, Page 5Y Times -Advocate, January 13, 1993 5 Orange ribbons showsuppart kw Swimmer report, say a►n6mkose attendants By Kettle Ercoli T -A Staff " GODERICH - Exeter is the sec- ond largest town in Huron County, yet the closest ambulance service to respond to an emergency in the area is located 12 kilometres away in Dashwood. Immediate govern- ment action on a year-old report may ease concern about ambulance response in rural areas. Ambulance attendants in Huron County met at the Alexandra Ma- rine and General Hospital in Gode- rich last Wednesday evening to dis- cuss the issue of ambulance service in Huron County. Particular con- cern focused on private owner - operators and a consistent higher standard of care throughout the province. Thirteen representatives from Seaforth, Clinton, Goderich, and Zurich listened to Art McNaughton of the Seaforth-Clinton Ambulance Service as he expounded on the content of a report which outlines recommendations to the Ministry of Health for immediate action. The Swimmer Report, compiled by Gene Swimmer, chair of the Emergency Medical Services 'Re- view, focuses on the issue of :pri- vate ambulance owner -operators and the effects they have on the hospital-based ambulance service. According to Liz Black of the Goderich Ambulance Service, there is a strong emphasis on making the public aware of the situation in or- der to gain further support for the Swimmer Report. "We have to make the govern- ment aware that the Swimmer Re- port is supported by the public. We will lobby like crazy over the next tew months and it will come down to 'Swim' or sink," Black said. McNaughton explained that in 1991 the Minister of Health asked for a study to be done examining the issue of ambulance service in Ontario. Thirty volunteers repre- senting the public, unions, indepen- dent operators and the provincial government served on four working groups to produce the Swimmer Report in December, 1991. They established 109 recommen- dations under four specific areas: structure and governance; labour and management relations; service issues; and recruitment, retention, mobility and career advancement. Currently there are 200 ambulance services in the province with seven different types of ownership within the system. Swimmer recommends that all ambulance services be con- densed into one service to ensure a higher standard of care and the re- duction of over -management and over -administration. . The report also states that ambu- lance attendants should be allowed to administer pain relief and intra- venous therapy. Because the 911 system is not extended to the rural areas, advanced life-support assis- tance is limited. To date there is no advance life support available to the people of Huron County. "All of Ontario should be covered by the 911 system. Seventy-five percent of the population has it and the higher standard of care that goes with it," McNaughton said. According to some of the ambu- lance- attendants there .is concern that there are private transfer vehi- cles in business that are not regulat- Art McNaughton, Seaforth-Clinton Ambulance Service, holds up the Swimmer Report as Liz Black, Goderich Ambulance Service looks on. The report was the topic of discussion at a meeting in Goderich last Wednesday. Letter to Edith? Continued from page 4 the authority of a member in mak- ing a credit transfer from that member's account into another's. No interest is paid or charged on account balances and a member may know the balance and turno- ver of another member. When a member "sells" to or "works" for another member their account is credited with the value of the transaction and the other member's account is debited. The system always has a 0 system bal- ance since one member's credit is anthers debit. The unit of ex- change is the green dollar which is tied Jo the Canadian dollar. In it's first0 months the Comox Valley, BC LetSystem enabled about $ (green) 250,000 worth of trade to take place between members. Systems for local exchange and "local currencies' may offer oppor- tunities for promoting local com- munities and their economics. They arc worth exploring as alter- natives to buffer our local commu- nities from the high costs of free trade and economic globalization. I am working on a graduate course on Sustainable Economics this winter and would be interested in hearing from your readers if they have experience with "local currencies' or would be interestde in information 1 uncovered in my research. i would be particularly interested if a local municipality and business association arc al- readyy exploring thelze options or would like information on them. Youro sincerely Rory Mucsaknol RR 1, w, Ontario N00 2H0 (519) 528-2493 ed or inspected, advertising that they have advance life support sys- tems. Implementation of the Swim- mer Report would see uniform reg- ulations of ambulance services across the province. "Right now you can get a van, buy a defibrillator and get a physi- cian to sign that you can operate it, and you're ready to set up shop as a private ambulance service," McNaughton explained. Contacted after the meeting, Brad Lucas, owner -operator of the Zu- rich Ambulance Service Inc. and the Seaforth/Clinton Ambulance Service Limited stated that there are parts of the Swimmer Report that he supports such as 911 and improving standards of life support. However, Lucas disagrees with the governance stipulation and getting lid of private ambulance service by forming one commission. "No cost analysis has been done so it might be hard on the taxpayers if this goes through. Swimmer's re- port states that good quality is in place—we can always use changes, but I don't think we need a com- plete overhaul," he stated. Dash- wood and Lucan owner -operators could not be reached for comment. According to McNaughton, im- plementation of the Swimmer Re- port would be a 'win/win' situation for the public and the ambulance service. The public would reap the benefits of improved quality of care, financial accountability, mini- mum response times and advanced life support. The ambulance offi- cers would be provided with ex- panded training programs, a variety of career options and improved ser- vice issues. Those in support of the Swimmer Report are donning orange ribbons. Some attendants have reported that their supervisors are discouraging the ribbons under the pretense that it is not part of their uniform. McNaughton said that some super- visors are going so far as to issue warnings and threatening with sub- sequent dismissal for wearing the orange ribbons. The ambulance officers are seek- ing immediate action from the Min- ister of Health. Petitions are cur- rently being circulated for support urging MPP Paul Klopp to address the government and take action with the Swimmer Report. "The time for action is now. This report has been sitting on the Health Minister's desk for over a year," said Paul Kruse of the Clin- ton Service. Cheryl Warring of the Wingham Service agreed. 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