REGINA — The Saskatchewan Health Authority has decided to end its contract with WPD Ambulance in Lloydminster, citing a failure to meet service needs for the Saskatchewan side of the city.
The SHA board voted unanimously in favour to terminate the contract, held by WPD Ambulance owner Dutchak Holdings Ltd., during a public board meeting on Oct. 20.
Corey Miller, vice-president of provincial programs, and Rod MacKenzie, executive director of emergency medical services, said that the decision was caused by continually inconsistent service coverage from WPD Ambulance.
“They weren’t providing the number of ambulances on a daily basis that were required contractually in our agreement,” said MacKenzie.
“It has nothing to do with the quality of service or the professionalism of paramedics in that area,” added Miller. “They were providing incredibly good service. It truly is a contract matter.”
Miller said the terms of the contract, which required that three ambulances be available for service at any time, with at least one able to provide advanced life support level care, were old and less specific than newer contracts in the province.
Dutchak Holdings took over the service contract with the SHA in 2013, after purchasing it from the previous care provider.
“We have moved to performance based contracts across a majority of the province, but we did not have one in place with this operator,” said Miller.
WPD was issued a letter from the SHA several months ago regarding the problem, said MacKenzie, followed by a second warning in early October.
The health of Lloydminster residents wasn’t at risk due to the issue, said MacKenzie, but it was causing some strain on Alberta resources, who were working to fill service gaps.
MacKenzie said the situation was not ideal, from an operational standpoint.
“We try to work with our operators to make it be successful,” said MacKenzie. “And we’ve reached a point where we now believe this is the time to make a change.”
Alberta Health Services also terminated its contract with WPD Ambulance a month ago, citing similar concerns regarding service delivery. AHS has since contracted Prairie Medical Services to provide care to the Alberta side of the city.
MacKenzie did not say whether the SHA will be pursuing a new contract with Prairie Medical Services, but it was noted that both the community and the health authority has interest in having just one ambulance provider serving the city.
“It doesn’t make sense to have two different operators there,” said Miller.
Moving forward, the board’s decision will be delivered to Health Minister Paul Merriman, who will review and make recommendations on continuing the termination.
Following the minister’s response, expected within a few days, a dispute resolution process will begin. Dutchak Holdings will have the opportunity to request mediation regarding the decision at this time, said Miller.
There is no set timeline for the process, said MacKenzie.
In the interim, Prairie Medical Services will continue to provide care to the Alberta side of the city and WPD Ambulance to the Saskatchewan side, until the resolution process is completed.
“We still will have the same level of service in the city of Lloydminster that we have historically had, to ensure that the community is covered for their EMS needs,” said MacKenzie.
