The Provincial Government has reached the next phase to establish an integrated ambulance service with a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a proponent to design, manage, and operate a single, integrated road and air ambulance service in the province. An integrated ambulance service was a key recommendation of Health Accord NL and will further modernize the province’s health care system.
The Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Health and Community Services, will be available to speak to media about the RFP today (Thursday, December 7), outside the House of Assembly, Confederation Building, beginning at 2:30 p.m. He will be joined by Cassie Chisholm, VP Transformation – Health Systems, NL Health Services.
The successful proponent will be responsible for managing the program, staff, and budget on behalf of the provincial health authority, and planning to ensure efficient operations as part of the contract. NL Health Services will employ paramedicine staff.
When the contract is awarded, additional employees will be required. The Provincial Government and NL Health Services anticipate that all ambulance staff currently employed with private and community operators will be offered employment.
In the future, all aviation services related to medivac are to be contracted and all medical flight staff will remain with the public health system. While air services employees will be offered employment in public service positions that they are qualified for, the successful proponent will also be required to make offers of employment in available positions to any impacted Department of Transportation and Infrastructure air services employees identified by the Provincial Government.
Submissions are due in early 2024 and the successful proponent will be required to:
- Provide clinical and operational management staff;
- Manage the dispatch for all emergency calls, routine medical transfers, and non-medical transfers throughout a single, integrated road and air ambulance system;
- Manage the road ambulance base infrastructure and determine the optimal positioning and deployment of road ambulances;
- Implement a ten-year plan to upskill and transition the paramedicine workforce to a minimum of Primary Care Paramedic certification, allowing emergency medical responders to become a part of the public service, including non-medical transports; and
- Work with government and NL Health Services to implement a long-term plan for developing a province-wide helicopter emergency medical service.
Budget 2023 allocated $9 million to begin the consolidation of 60 separate road ambulance services into a single, integrated service with a centralized approach.
More details on the RFP, tenders, and other requests for proposals issued and awarded by the department and other public bodies is available by visiting www.merx.com/govnl.
Quotes
“This integration is a significant undertaking and the right move for government, for people who rely on ambulance services, and for the people providing the services. This is all a part of our plan to make ambulance services better for residents and everyone involved. Improved wages and benefits will lead to a greater retention of ambulance staff under the new system and we look forward to seeing the new service begin in 2024.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Health and Community Services
“Change in paramedicine services in this Province is long overdue. We have been guided by and challenged by Health Accord NL to put in place an integrated network that enables new ways of delivering better healthcare to patients and residents who rely on medical transportation and emergency services. Releasing this RFP is a critical step towards realizing that vision.
Cassie Chisholm, VP – Transformation, Health Systems
NL Health Services
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