The province’s Health Minister has waded into the fight over Air Ambulance Services in the Peace River area.
The AM 610 Newsroom spoke with Sarah Hoffman to get her take on the issue.
Deputy Premier and Health Minister Sarah Hoffman. (Photo/Alberta NDP)
On the newly launched website www.saveype.ca, the Town of Peace River said that Alberta Health Services (AHS) wasn’t, quote, “in the airport viability business,” charging that they don’t care how their actions impact the airport, local economy or the entire region.
“Perhaps the choice of words could have been more appropriate,” said Hoffman. “AHS’ number one responsibility is to be ensuring the number one best ambulance service for the people of the region. I imagine when they said the words that they did that they were meaning to say that their number one priority is good health care, including for the Peace Country.”
Also, the town wants AHS to engage in bona fida public consultation and engagement on what Albertans expect and want in their air ambulance service contracts.
“When I talk to Albertans, including those in the Peace Country,” Hoffman said. “They want to ensure that they have access to care close to home. And that includes having base locations throughout the province so that you don’t have to worry about an air ambulance being dispatched from far away. And, they want to make sure that they’re getting the very best return for every dollar being invested from the public.”
The down also wants current Air Ambulance contracts into a one-year holdover position, and then have the Auditor General review the Request for Proposal (RFP) process to identify the failures.
Hoffman says that it’s important that this process is done fairly and transparently, and get the best return on the dollars being invested.
– Posted by BET
