TIGNISH - Tignish Town Council promised Monday night that it will work to arrange a meeting with provincial officials to find out what’s happening with the Rapid Response Unit Island EMS currently has based in West Prince.
About 25 area residents, mostly associated with the Tignish Seniors Home Care Co-operative and Tignish Fire Department, were in attendance to raise concerns that the Rapid Response Unit might not be as available in the region as regularly as it had been for the past five years.
“It’s a benefit to us. We are the busiest fire department on the Island. Probably there are not going to be too many fire departments in Atlantic Canada, for the size of the community and larger, that do as many calls as we do. Having Kenny there is a real asset,” said Tignish Fire Chief Allan Gavin, referring to Kenny Ramsay, the advanced care paramedic that most regularly operates the RRU.
“It’s confidence-booster,” he added in describing the advantage of having an advanced care paramedic on scene.
“We don’t want Kenny to leave,” said Lori-Ann Keough, manager of the Tignish Seniors Home Care Co-operative. “We’re thinking simple: Keep Kenny where he’s at, keep us doing the job we normally do and create another job or get another Rapid Response Unit.”
James Sullivan, Health P.E.I.'s director of emergency health and planning services, responded to the Journal Pioneer via email Monday, indicating plans are in place to enhance the service in West Prince and Kings County.
“A RRU is a medically equipped sport utility vehicle operated by a highly skilled advanced care paramedic,” Sullivan explained. “The RRU responds quickly to 9-1-1 calls for ambulance service, with the advanced care paramedic beginning assessment and treatment, and staying with the patient until the ambulance arrives. This means better emergency access and care for Islanders. The existing RRUs operate Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. – the busiest time of day for emergency calls.”
He reported plans are in place to expand the hours of coverage from the current 45 hours a week to 84 hours a week, 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
He said the West Prince unit would continue to be based in West Prince, but its coverage area would be increased to include East Prince.
The Kings County unit, would continue to serve all of Eastern P.E.I. and a third RRU would be added to serve Queens County.
“These enhancements will ensure that we are utilizing the RRUs in a more proactive manner across the province in an effort to better support and reduce less urgent emergency calls,” Sullivan said.
At the Tignish meeting, residents expressed concern that the changes will result in a reduction of service in West Prince.
Mayor Allan McInnis proposed a committee made up of council, fire department and seniors home staff meets with provincial Health Minister Robert Mitchell and area MLAs to discuss the concerns.
He suggested other fire departments and seniors home care facilities might want to send representatives. He said he will try to get the meeting set up for this week in Tignish.
The Journal Pioneer attempted to reach Health P.E.I. for follow-up questions but voicemail messages were not returned.
In a telephone interview with the Journal Pioneer earlier in the day, Keough said an advanced care paramedic attends the seniors home and other community care facilities most weekdays and their assessments help cut down on emergency responses to the homes.
