The National Times - Lethbridge submits interest in provincial ground ambulance contract

Mayor Blaine Hyggen provided an update Monday on Lethbridge Emergency Services, reminding residents that emergency medical services have not changed. “Our dedicated men and women of the Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services continue to provide the excellent care for our community every day,” said Hyggen. “Even though our contract ended on Sept. 30, we still remain the EMS provider.”

What has changed, he says, is Emergency Health Services Alberta has now issued a request for expression of interest and qualifications for ground emergency health services. “For Lethbridge, this is what we’d call the procurement process, and it’s what the city has been anticipating over the past few months,” said Hyggen. “We’ve been preparing for this since May, and that has come out now.”

He says teams across the organization are working hard to prepare a strong submission with the goal of being the successful proponent and continuing to provide EMS in Lethbridge as that integrated service. “As we enter into the competitive procurement process, we’re obviously unable to share details in order to protect the integrity of the process,” said Hyggen. “But once a procurement is issued, communications related to that procurement become restricted until a contract is formally awarded and executed.”

He says this work is being undertaken by city administration now, and does not involve city council in any way at this time. “As we said throughout this difficult process, the City of Lethbridge wants to continue providing EMS and are committed to finding a sustainable way to meet that goal,” said Hyggen.

He says the city is bidding to continue Fire and Emergency integrated services, but this is the process they have to go through to hopefully get there. “We continue as an integrated service, as we always have for over 100 years, while the city’s bidding for it,” said Hyggen.

He says they have until Jan. 7, to submit an expression of interest, and with the Christmas holidays coming up, they will try to do it as soon as possible. “We want to keep that integrated service, and I’m sure that’s what our administration (is) putting forward — to be the contractor for that service,” said Hyggen.

Hyggen says he has been in communication with other municipalities that offer integrated services, from both sides of the conversation, some that accepted the EHS benchmark and those that didn’t. “You do learn from other communities and other municipalities, and how they work towards it, but accepting these benchmarks was just not sustainable,” said Hyggen.

He reiterated that it was too costly for the community, and therefore, they are trying to find a way to keep that service. “But this service is delivered by the province, and we are the contractor. They are mandated to provide that service. We contract on their behalf, and we want to keep that integrated service,” said Hyggen. “It is our hope that through this procurement process, that we’ll continue to do that, and that funding will come from the province, so that it doesn’t impact the taxpayer.”

L.Johnson--TNT