Delegates at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) convention have supported two resolutions calling for immediate action by the Alberta Government to address ambulance service delivery.

One calls for the province to immediately consultant with municipalities to develop a plan to make urgently needed improvements to the delivery of the ambulance system and to also recognize and compensate municipalities for the role they play in supporting the provincial health care system.

Since first elected in 2017, Town Councillor Alex Reed has expressed concern over the impact of regionalizing the EMS service. It both threatens response times and leaves municipalities shouldering additional costs.

"We've had to offset those services locally because we are a responsible government by hiring additional fire personnel, which is $100,000 plus."

"This is just wrong, and so now we finally got our colleagues across the province to agree with this, and this will be a major priority in terms of being able to move forward with the minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver."

Now that the resolution has passed, Reed says municipalities and AUMA must remain aggressive.

"This is a priority for me, and I'm going to continue to push that," says Reed.

Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), has applauded municipalities for taking leadership on the issue.

He says the union will be working with Alberta Health Services to develop a plan to make urgently needed improvements to the delivery and performance of the ambulance system.

Don Sharpe, a special member of the local Citizens Action Committee, says that's fine, but some actions can be taken now.

He says ending hospital hallway waiting will have an immediate benefit.

"Get those crews out of the hospital and get those paramedics back in the communities where they belong," says Sharpe.

He also endorses using more private certified ambulance services to provide patient transfers from rural urgent care centres to free up EMS crews.

"These private operators, like Aaron Paramedical and Medsource, have the units and staff available and can move patients. They're moving patients now. AHS calls Aaron Paramedical all the time."

Sharpe says securing more resources is currently a challenge.

"I think that Mike Parker and the HSAA want more ambulances and more paramedics, and I agree that's a good idea. The question is how many, and when can we get them on the road?"

"B.C. ambulance just ordered 130 ambulances. Do you know how many they're going to get? I hear they're going to get four."

In the States, he says a company out of Kalispell, Montana is purchasing older ambulances and retrofitting them to help meet the demand. 

The second resolution calls for the government to improve provincial-municipal emergency collaboration and communications.

The AUMA convention continues today in Edmonton.