Emergency care in Manitoba has been evolving for quite some time, originally focusing on transportation, and now providing advanced pre-hospital care. The Emergency Medical Response and Stretcher Transportation Act was introduced back in 1985 and I am pleased to be a part of proposing legislative changes that will help reduce costs for patients, strengthen service standards and ensure Manitobans receive the best possible care before they get to a hospital.
Once enacted, these changes would support the ongoing work to develop a standardized fee structure for land ambulances; formalize the responsibilities and authority of the provincial medical director and regional medical directors to provide medical oversight for paramedics; enable the provincial medical director to establish standards and requirements related to drugs, diagnostic devices and clinical-care devices to be carried by emergency medical response vehicles and their use by emergency medical response personnel; to update definitions and outdated provisions about equipment, funding and consultation processes for new proposed services; and enable the province to stop licensing paramedics when the profession transitions to self-regulation under The Regulated Health Professions Act. Our government will continue working and consulting with all stakeholders as the self-regulation process moves forward.
For more information on emergency medical services in Manitoba, visit www.gov.mb.ca/health/ems.
