Emergency Medical Services

Alberta experienced an unprecedented 30% increase in calls for emergency medical services (EMS) over the past two years, largely due to opioid use and the COVID-19 pandemic.

These systemic issues and increased demand have resulted in further deterioration in ambulance response times, including rotating periods of no response (aka ‘code red’ or ‘red alert’) around Alberta.

From February to September 2022, we participated on the Government of Alberta’s EMS Provincial Advisory Committee. We met regularly to review policies and procedures, identify issues, develop strategies, and make recommendations to the Minister of Health. The EMS Provincial Advisory Committee’s final report was released in January 2023. The report contained 53 recommendations, all of which were accepted by the province.