Rafterman1 said:
The JIBC was never on strike, it was the BCAS Paramedic work force (CUPE 873) on strike. The union considered student practicum non-essential. Precepting is slowly starting again.
Looks like the red-headed orphans of the west won't be CUPE's problEMS much longer:
http://apbc.ca/preleases/20100331cupe.pdf
( I suspect that, privately, CUPE National is breathing a sigh of relief. The headache of representing Paramedics is not worth the dues collected. So I have been told, off the record. )
"The government decided against creating a bargaining unit specifically for paramedics."
Paramedics will get that when ( you know where ) freezes over. Police and fire have their own Separate Bargaining Units SBU's.
BCAS: "PARAMEDICS ROLE TO BE EXPANDED AND ENHANCED":
http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2009-2013/2010HSERV0025-000443.htm
"particularly in rural and remote areas"
"especially in rural and remote areas"
As much as we would prefer to hang around inside with the nurses, Paramedics in the city do not have time "to be expanded and enhanced". If Vancouver is anything like here, they probably stack calls. They call it high-performance EMS, or System Status Management SSM. It is measured by Unit Hour Utilization UHU: Transports/ Available UH
When the ambulance is not on a call, they want it on mobile deployment at "Walk and Don't Walk" to eliminate the "Chute Time". That's the official term for it and spelling. Like a racehorse in the chute, riders already in their saddles, just waiting for the radio spur.
"paving the way for the introduction of ‘treat and release’. Under ‘treat and release’, a paramedic called to a scene could assess a patient(s), provide appropriate treatment and advise of follow-up care instead of having to transport the patient to the emergency department."
"Treat and Release" is a relatively new term from the U.S. From what I understand, it means you get a bill, even though you refused to go. Even if someone else called the Paramedics. As it is now, "No patient carried = no charge."
California: "Treat and release (assessment) $150". You hear the term treat and Release most often associated with "Fire based EMS".
http://www.carlsbadca.gov/services/departments/finance/Pages/fees-billing.aspx
The number of "Treat and Releases" at SARS-Stock ( 2003) , or Papal visits ( 1984 and 2002 ), was staggering.
This is the interesting part:
"The new approach was based in part on a month-long consultation on options for new service delivery models identified in a report that looked at three options: closer integration within the health system, closer integration with other emergency service providers and opportunities for private-sector service delivery."
They managed to squeeze the word "integration" twice into one sentence. That is a powerful, positive sounding, word. Especially when compared to its opposite.
Below is the "service delivery model" I served under. It went into effect on 1 Jan 1967. I hope it never changes:
"The service is operated directly as a branch of the municipal government as an
independent, third-service option provider, which means that the service is funded by the municipal tax base, and operates in much the same manner as any other municipal department, such as the police or fire department,
but retains its complete independence from all other departments."
( Bolding mine. )
Rafterman1 said:
That sounds like a good idea.
