Trumpy report suggests ‘community-based solutions’ for smaller rural ambulance services

January 19, 2010 by Lynn Knell
Filed under BC government, BC news, Business, Medicine, Safety

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Industrial Inquiry Commission issues report on the BC Ambulance Service.

In November of 2009, An Industrial Inquiry Commission under the BC Labor Relations Code, appointed Chris Trumpy as Industrial Inquiry Commissioner, to head up an examination of the BC Ambulance Service. Mr. Trumpy has finished his research and delivered his report, dated January 10, 2010, to the Minister of Labor, the Hon.Murray Coell, who has forwarded it to the Minister of Health, Kevin Falcon. The report is non-binding and allows for further consideration by government to help improve service delivery and the structure of collective bargaining for the Emergency and Health Services Commission and CUPE Local 873.

The commission delved into such issues as staff recruitment, training and retention, staff workload and occupational health and safety, deployment strategies and wages for paramedics and dispatchers.

The report has also been sent to CUPE Local 873, the union which represents BC paramedics and dispatchers and the Emergency and Health Services Commission. The union did not participate in the inquiry, to Mr. Trumpy’s great disappointment, so there were some areas which he was not able to address.

Some individual paramedics who care deeply about the work and the outcome of the inquiry, did contribute with insightful comments. Mr. Trumpy recommends that the BC Government find a way to engage the local union and its membership in discussions.

There is a link at the end of this article, containing the entire report; however, some highlights are as follows:

As a result of an inter-provincial comparison of compensations of paramedics across the country, it was shown that BC paramedics are paid at the top end of the wage scale.
An inter-provincial comparison of training showed that training requirements are higher in some other provinces than in BC.
Mr Trumpy was unable to gather together information from key sources, about workload and health and safety, which would have enabled him to provide a comprehensive report.
Mr. Trumpy revealed that there is a consistent standardization of service across similar communities, i.e. all rural communities treated the same, all urban communities treated the same, the same province-wide standards for dispatch staff and paramedics, wages, terms of employment, etc. He observed that the one-size-fits-all approach may not be appropriate in some cases.
He found that there are challenges finding rural residents to work as paramedics in their communities.
The relationship between employer and bargaining unit is strained.
He suggests that a move to community-based solutions would be, perhaps, a positive option for the smaller rural areas. The approach would be responsive to community needs and circumstances. This would be dependent upon communities being willing to take on responsibilities that have, up to now, been shouldered by others.