Edmonton Paramedics

05/17/2026

In case anyone missed it, the new brand identity was unveiled for Alberta EMS last week. We now have a new name, new logo and new uniforms. Unfortunately, underneath all this fanfare and excitement is a depressing reality that we continue to live in.

So far this month:

- another patient died in an Emergency Department waiting room

- an Edmonton ambulance took 16 minutes to respond to a cardiac arrest because there was no closer unit.

- Our fellow paramedics at several integrated fire departments are facing the threat of layoffs due to EMS funding decisions

- Edmonton Paramedics continue to face unrelenting pressure to leave patients in hospital waiting rooms to get back on the road

- Overall morale continues to be low as paramedics struggle with a crushing workload, lack of support, and lack of resources

Let's get real about why none of this is being addressed.

Our entire public healthcare system is relying on expensive consultants who don't know anything about healthcare.

Ernst and Young (EY) and Deloitte have been heavily involved in the healthcare restructuring since the beginning. We have paid them millions of Alberta tax payer dollars to produce nothing but costly disasters for our healthcare system.

EY is responsible for the recommendation to privatize lab services with Dynalife, which cost our province over $100 million dollars before Dynalife went out of business

EY is also currently heavily involved in the EMS modernization to the extent that they are actually over seeing the changes as opposed to just making recommendations.

EMS managers are often unable to answer questions about the plans for modernization because they aren't involved in it.

Deloitte was responsible for consulting on the recent EMS rebranding.

Several paramedics have already come forward saying that they felt the Deloitte focus groups did not listen to their input on branding and it seemed like the Deloitte consultants already had their minds made up before the focus groups were conducted.

Deloitte is also currently under investigation for using AI to create false evidence to support their recommendations to clients. They clearly continued to use AI for their promotional videos of the Alberta EMS rebranding, which led to embarrassing spelling errors and inaccuracies. One has to wonder if Deloitte relied on AI for other aspects of the EMS rebranding.

These are just a few examples. Money is being spent on everything except actually supporting paramedics and improving healthcare capacity.

Les, the real world doesn't care about how cool you look on LinkedIn announcing the release of a new branding with a mouthful of corporate consultant buzz words.

Paramedics never wanted a new logo and a new brand.

Things paramedics actually want:

- Investment in expanding frontline resources to meet increasing call volumes

- Having real rest periods and going home on time

- A healthcare system that doesn't normalize leaving sick patients in hospital hallways and waiting rooms

- Abandoning the expensive consultants and engaging with real paramedics to create meaningful change

It's time to prioritize our patients, healthcare workers, and healthcare system over increasing the profits of expensive consulting firms.

03/07/2026

Just because we haven’t posted in a while doesn’t mean things are improving. Low ambulance availability and long response times continue to persist.

The recent provincial budget also didn’t include any funding for improving EMS capacity.

On the bright side, our new name and logo will be released soon.

02/05/2026

Great work team.

Another testament to the exceptional patient care provided by paramedics everyday.

Naz recently had the opportunity to reconnect with the paramedics who saved his life after he suffered a heart attack and cardiac arrest on October 29, 2025. Being able to see him healthy, smiling, and personally expressing his appreciation was a meaningful experience for all involved.

Paramedics rarely get to see what happens after their care ends. Being able to reconnect and see a patient healthy and thriving after a life-threatening emergency is a truly special experience.

Naz, thank you for stopping by and sharing this moment with us. It was wonderful to see you doing so well.

02/05/2026

Solidarity.

Edmonton Paramedics stand with our fellow paramedics from the Saskatoon Paramedic Association and Ambulance Paramedics of BC as they struggle to negotiate fair and progressive contracts with their employers.

This further demonstrates a disturbing trend across the country of employers treating paramedics with contempt and disrespect throughout the bargaining process.

EMS is facing a crisis across the country and patients are suffering as a result. Employers engaging in bad faith bargaining and refusing to properly invest in their staff will only make things worse.

01/25/2026

Just over 60% staffed this morning and already barely any ambulances available.

Emergency Departments are still overflowing and filled with patients that should be admitted to the hospital.

Meanwhile, we have 4 health ministers passing this crisis around like a hot potato refusing to acknowledge it.

01/21/2026

Healthcare capacity issues are not just limited to hospitals.

Edmonton has seen monthly 911 call volumes increase by 1500-2000 calls per month when compared to 2023. January of 2026 is already shaping up to be one of our busiest months in recent memory.

Despite this increased demand, only 2 new ambulances have been added to Edmonton since 2023. That means the increased call volume has been predominantly absorbed at the expense of paramedic's physical and psychological health. Our sky high disabling injury rate and retention issues serve as proof that the current workload is not sustainable.

The rest of Alberta has also seen limited additions of new ambulances as well. At a certain point we need to accept that increasing capacity is a necessity to respond to increasing call volumes.

We want to see a commitment in the upcoming provincial budget to invest in expanding capacity throughout the healthcare system. This includes more care spaces in hospitals but also more ambulances on the road to ensure we can get every Albertan the Right Care at the Right Time in the Right Place

01/19/2026

Please take the time to read all of these documented examples of patients suffering due to lack of capacity in our hospitals. Keep in mind that all of these examples are from the first 2 weeks of 2026 and only represent a fraction of the suffering.

Contrary to popular belief, the Emergency Departments aren’t overflowing with patients that should have gone to a medicenter or stayed home. They are overflowing with very sick patients who need care. These patients are real human beings with real loved ones. It’s only a matter of time before it’s you or someone you care about that suffers an adverse outcome due to the lack of capacity in our healthcare system.

This is why paramedics keep waiting in hospital hallways. Because every inch of care space is occupied and every nurse has a full assignment (including hallway patients). Paramedics bring patients in faster than they can be admitted to the hospital. Eventually the Emergency Department can’t absorb any more EMS patients and paramedics have to wait again. The Emergency Department is the end of a very long traffic jam within the hospital as patients wait for space upstairs.

If you want to improve EMS availability then start addressing the capacity issues instead of timing how long it takes paramedics to hand over care. Fix the capacity issues and the EMS offload issue will fix itself.

As a reminder, the planned new south side hospital in Edmonton was cancelled by the provincial government in 2024.

01/12/2026

01/09/2026

This is the latest example of the current EMS crisis.

A Good Samaritan came across an injured man when it was -19 outside crawling on the ground with a broken leg after being assaulted. No ambulance was available so the Good Samaritan transported the injured patient to the hospital in his own vehicle.

Situations like this are happening multiple times
EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

911 calls being stacked in a queue waiting for an ambulance to be assigned. Everything up to and including cardiac arrests having delayed responses.

Calling 911 for an Ambulance shouldn't feel like playing a game of chance. Healthcare isn't a casino game.

The government and EMS management will continue to insist that things are improving. They are not.

Paramedics can only do so much with the current resources. We need to invest in increasing capacity to see real improvements.