BC Emergency Health Services has finally answered the question of why it cut three ambulances from its Kelowna service. In an email response to questions asked by Castanet earlier this month, a spokeswoman for the agency says that while the three ambulances are still in Kelowna, they are not currently staffed because language in the collective agreement with the paramedic union prevents. But it also states that Kelowna is ineligible for funding that could pay for their operation. Schedule 15 of the collective agreement between BCEHS and the paramedics union states that temporary positions cannot last longer than 24 months. “The temporary contracts for paramedic staff came into force on 1 November 2020 and due to the provisions noted (in Schedule 15) relating to the collective agreement, they expired on 31 October 2022,” the email states. It adds, “ambulances may be staffed by on-call paramedics who work occasional shifts, as per the collective agreement.” Castanet first reported on Nov. 5 that the emergency service had quietly removed three ambulances from its Kelowna corps, without staffing them since Nov. 1. The BC Paramedics Union said the growing demand for ambulance service in the Central Okanagan shows they are much needed and wants all three to become part of the city’s full-time ambulance station. He fears even more waiting for ambulances in the area and in some cases ambulances don’t show up at all because they aren’t available. Before Nov. 1, Kelowna had 10 ambulances available. The three decommissioned were part of 55 added by the province in 2020. Besides the language of the collective agreement, it also appears to be a matter of money. “The reason Kelowna and some other urban stations do not qualify for the permanent pandemic positions (208 regular and 50 irregular) in the Rural Remote First Nations and Indigenous COVID-19 Framework (RRIF) is because funding was targeted where Permanent resources are needed most, in rural and remote areas of BC,” the BCEHS email states. “We are fully aware of the growing needs in Kelowna.” Meanwhile, BCEHS says a demand analysis is underway to determine what is needed in the Kelowna area and elsewhere in the province. “We can share that demand analysis typically factors such as (topics) such as 911 volumes, hospital-to-hospital transport volumes, geography, patient flow (related to hospital and health care services) and proximity to other ambulance stations as well as health facilities . ,” the email states. Currently, ambulances from outlying communities such as Lake Country, West Kelowna and Peachland are used to augment Kelowna ambulance services, often leaving these areas without ambulance coverage for hours at a time. The BCEHS email gives no indication of when the request will be reviewed, which areas it covers or how much it will cost. Meanwhile, the paramedic association says it will continue to call on BCEHS to make the three former temporary ambulances used in Kelowna full-time, like 25 of the 55 temporary ambulances previously announced elsewhere in the province.
