When there is a medical emergency in town, a quick call to 911 should bring paramedics to the scene. What happens when there are no paramedics to be assigned to the emergency?
That was the question posed to town council on Aug. 19 by Drumheller-Stettler MLA Rick Strankman, who asked councillors about “Code Red” situations in the community.
According to Linda Borg, EMS coordinator in Stettler, “Code Red” was the term coined by the ambulance board to reference the time when no ambulance is available within the community. This can happen for a multitude of reasons – including ambulances already being dispatched to another situation or being used in the transportation of a patient from one medical facility to another.
Assistant CAO to the town, Steve Gerlitz, said he didn’t have numbers available about the number of times a Code Red happens in Stettler, but noted that during his tenure with the community of Camrose, they “happened a lot.”
According to Borg, the number of Code Reds, as well as the length they last, has gone down since Stettler District EMS joined Alberta Health Services (AHS). Previously, when a Code Red happened, the coordinator would have to bring in off-duty EMS staff to man an ambulance to respond to the issue, which sometimes could take up to 30 or 40 minutes. Now, when a Code Red happens, an ambulance is quickly dispatched from one of the neighbouring communities, such as Bashaw or Castor, Borg explained. A Code Red now lasts roughly 20 minutes.
Even though EMS has a Code Red nearly every other day, Borg said, it doesn’t mean that for 20 minutes, someone experiencing a medical emergency is left unattended. The Stettler Regional Fire Department or the Paramedic Response Unit (PRU) are dispatched, with trained staff, to stabilize and assist the patient until an ambulance arrives.
The PRU, an SUV that is “stocked for advanced life support,” can do the exact same things as an ambulance, except for transporting patients, Borg explained.
“It’s not as ominous as it sounds,” Borg noted of Code Reds. “They happen a lot less than they used to before (we joined) AHS.”
According to Stettler Regional Fire Chief Mark Dennis, the fire department is often used as a first responder for several communities, simply because of their proximity to the situation versus that of the EMS bay in Stettler. When emergency medical situations crop up in the southern or northern parts of the county, such as in Big Valley or Donalda, the fire department, with its staff trained in emergency first aid, can often reach the site before the ambulance can reach the situation.
These aren’t classified as Code Red situations, though – simply a matter of making sure that people in medical distress are assisted as fast as is possible, Dennis said.
Currently, with the systems used to track EMS calls undergoing upgrades, Borg wasn’t able to provide exact statistics to demonstrate the number and length of Code Red situations in the town and county, but noted that no matter the numbers, EMS works hard to ensure there’s always coverage in the community for the people who need them.