Banff-Kananaskis MLA Miranda Rosin believes discussions on a proposal that would increase access to ambulances and CT scans in the Canmore and Banff area are promising.

Rosin has met with Health minister Tyler Shandro to present a proposal based upon the ideas of Banff ER doctors.

It calls for increasing the operating hours of the CT scan service in the Canmore General Hospital, a measure they believe will reduce the number of ambulances sent to Calgary hospitals.

MLA Rosin says Alberta Health has actioned this as a priority pilot project once current contract negotiations with radiologists are completed.

"I'm actually quite optimistic that once this agreement is finalized we can really begin the work of trying to allocate a couple of extra CT Scan hours to the Canmore Hospital for after-hours, evenings, and weekends to see if it will make a difference in keeping more ambulances in town."

Both Banff and Canmore continue to have hospitals because of the high volume of emergency calls to treat those injured while recreating in the mountain parks. 

"We're fortunate to have two hospitals out here in the mountains, yet we don't have enough ambulance services to cater to those hospitals and to get people to those hospitals when they need help."

She believes there are adequate ambulances, but when patients are transported to Calgary hospitals, the likelihood of their immediate return is unlikely.

Rosin says the current policy requires the ambulances the take the next available call upon delivery of the patient, and they tend to get caught in the urban loop. While there have been ongoing discussions on changing the policy, none have been made.

"So, we need to find ways that we can increase our ambulance availability in our rural communities without necessarily looking for extra dollars or without overhauling the entire provincial system."

She says many rural areas are facing the same issue, including Cochrane.