Expecting a fast response from an ambulance when an emergency arises is something we all rely on.

A recent audit of Alberta's Healthcare Emergency system revealed some deficiencies in the delivery of EMS.

Highwood MLA R.J. Sigurdson says the audit highlights several areas of service where he feels improvement can be made.

One area is speeding up the time ambulances spend at hospitals.

"We need to find a way to make sure the triage in our hospitals goes as quickly as possible. So that we're not hanging up our ambulances, stuck in waiting times and in waiting rooms and hallways in hospitals. That we can get the turn around as quickly as possible and get those ambulances back on the road." said Sigurdson.

Another issue Sigurdson wants to address is the effective utilization of EMT's and ambulances.

"We should be using our emergency services and emergency cars for what they should be, which is emergencies and not facility transfers. I think that we need to break the two apart." he explains.

"We have a far more effective delivery when we are dealing with facility transfers and we break that away from our emergencies. So that we are utilizing our system for what it should be, emergencies, and making sure that it is ready to go when it's needed."

Concerns around wait times for EMS at hospitals and using ambulances for inter facility transfers are just some of the issues up for review.

Other concerns regarding response times in rural areas have also been raised and Sigurdson says they're working on that.

"There is definitely concern about a lot of the response times. We need to make sure we have emergency cars available in our rural areas." he said.

Another topic of concern expressed is about outsourcing services to private companies.

Sigurdson says having independent companies hired to provide services adds to the overall quality of care.

"It's not privatization, this is publicly funded services through contract and I think people need to be reminded that this is all linear." he continues, "We have very strict standards on how we do things within our healthcare system, and whether it is through a third party delivery or whether it's directly under AHS control, they meet and have to meet, the same criterion and standard." 

He says creative ideas are necessary to improve services and he points to Stars Air Ambulance Service as an example of an outsourced service provider that improves care for Albertans.

Sigurdson believes there are solutions to getting ambulances back in service faster and he plans on brainstorming innovative ideas with AHS personnel and UCP members.

He says it'll be all hands on deck during the upcoming member policy committee meetings where all members will be participating in the discussions around improving health care services in the Province.