Wednesday, July 28, 2010
July 2010 – Councillor Sean Strickland Regional Affairs-E-News
AMBULANCE RESPONSE TIMES IMPROVING
Dear Neighbours,
For new readers, please see information at the end of the email.
I hope everyone’s summer is going well and you are taking an opportunity to relax and spend some time with family. Spring was
so busy at our household that this "spring" update has overflowed into summer. Hope you don't mind.
Increased summer activities unfortunately also bring increased accidents and trauma. In this issue I thought it would be
useful to know what the Region of Waterloo is doing to improve ambulance response times.
Ambulance Response Times
As Chair of the Community Services Committee (which has responsibility for emergency medical services (EMS) or more commonly
referred to as ambulance) I have been actively involved with Regional Staff to implement a plan that will improve ambulance
response times across the Region. Recommendations to improve response times include using modern signal light technology so
ambulances can receive priority at signalized intersections, investing in new ambulances and ambulance stations where required
and the creation of a joint Dispatch Centre with police and fire.
The current dispatch model is cumbersome and outdated causing dispatchers to spend unnecessary seconds to transfer calls back
and forth and identifying whether fire/police/ambulance or all 3 services are required. Current ambulance response times are
delayed anywhere from 30 seconds to 1.30 seconds simply due to inefficient dispatch!
In January 2010 the Community Services Committee and Council unanimously adopted the following recommendations:
- Fire Services Dispatching should be consolidated into one Fire Communications Centre co-located with the Waterloo
Regional Police Communications Centre.
- Enhanced Technology, including AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) for Fire Services, electronic linking of Fire and EMS CAD
(Computer Aided Dispatch) systems, and pre-alert to ambulances.
- CCACC (Cambridge Central Ambulance Communications Centre) should be co-located with Police and Fire Dispatch Services in
the same facility, and encourage the Group to move forward with required investigations so that a final decision to proceed
can be made in June, 2010.
The three recommendations together, provide a longer-term staged approach to consolidating Police, Fire and EMS dispatching in
a single facility. This staged approach is necessary as the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care’s (MOHLTC) co-operation is
required for recommendations 2 and 3 to be implemented. While invited, the MOHLTC chose not to participate in the Dispatch
Model Review process.
In June of this year Regional Council learned that all area emergency service teams are still prepared to co-operate and move
towards a single consolidated Dispatch Centre. Regrettably the province, for whatever reason, is not allowing us to proceed at
this time. Myself and the other Committee Chairs of the Region have requested a meeting with provincial officials to remedy
this situation as soon as possible.
In the interim, Regional Staff are reviewing technologies for signal optimization and traffic control pre-emption that will
reduce the average ambulance response time by 45-60 seconds. Final selection and implementation of this technology will begin
sometime in 2011.
As elected officials, Regional Council is doing what we can to ensure our ambulance system is fast, efficient and reliable.
Ambulance is a service you never want to use but if you or a loved one needs an ambulance you want it there fast.
Have a safe summer.
Please see:
http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/202147
http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/198996
http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/local/article/81983--new-response-times-set-for-regional-ambulances
http://www.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/region.nsf/8ef02c0fded0c82a85256e590071a3cc/cc3cb3ff956bab0a852576ba004ef0c7!OpenDocument
Sincerely,
Sean Strickland
sstrickland@regionofwaterloo.ca
|
Monday, January 25, 2010
Dear Readers,
We have a lot of catching up to do with respect to Regional issues including the fluoride "flap", untendered contracts, the
Regional sign By-law, Police Service budget and final Regional budget for 2010.
In this edition:
- Fluoride mix-up
- No bids for $43 million Wastewater Contract
- Regional Sign By-law
- Police Budget
- 2010 Regional Budget
- Fluoride Mix Up
"Staff had a duty to report to us. Someone dropped the ball" Councillor Sean Strickland
Regardless of your opinion on whether or not the City of Waterloo should fluoridate its drinking water the current policy, as
directed by Waterloo voters, is that the drinking water is fluoridated.
That's why I was astonished to learn from a recent staff report that the system has been broken for some time and much of
Waterloo did not receive fluoridated water in 2009. The repairs have since been made and the system is now functioning.
Communication breakdown at the staff level has also been corrected so that councillors and the public are informed of these
issues in a timelier manner in the future. For more information please visit:
Region has not fluoridated water for most of the year
http://news.therecord.com/news/local/article/644090
Region fumbled on fluoride file
http://news.therecord.com/opinions/editorials/article/631439
- No bids for $43 million Wastewater Contract
"I object in principle to negotiating a $43 million contract without going to tender" Councillor Sean Strickland
In a surprising move Regional Council voted to approve a $43 million contract (over 5 years) to the Ontario Clean Water Agency
(OCCWA) without going to tender. OCCWA manages and maintains the Region's 13 wastewater treatment plants. I appreciate the
fine work OCCWA has done for the Region in the past, but $43 million dollars is a lot of money to be awarded without
adequately testing the marketplace. I voted against the approval. For more information please visit:
http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news/article/195439
Region won't seek bids for $43M sewage treatment contract
http://news.therecord.com/news/local/article/631443
- Regional Sign By-Law
Regional Council has moved away with a plan to completely ban mobile signs from Regional roads. The proposed By-law from
regional staff advocated for disallowing mobile signs on Regional road allowances. I support greater regulation of mobile
signs on Regional road allowances so that they do not impede traffic, pedestrians, cyclists and are not a safety hazard. I do
not however support a complete ban as this would negatively impact many small businesses in our community. For more
information please visit:
"Sign by-law softened"
Regional Councillors have moved away from a plan to ban mobile road signs, leaving the door open to allow the signs on
Regional roads.
http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/article/219414--sign-bylaw-softened
Local businesses balk at proposed sign ban
http://news.therecord.com/news/local/article/644090
- Police Budget
The original 2010 Police budget called for the additional hiring of 20 more officers and 24 more civilians starting in early
2010. This original proposal would have increased Regional taxes by 1.2 per cent. Based on strong feedback from regional
council Police Chief Matt Torigian, in co-operation with the Police Services Board, pledged to review the hiring program in
light of the increased expense. I fully recognize the value and appreciate the service of the Waterloo Regional Police and
encouraged the group to "sharpen their pencils" and explore ways to reduce the increased costs. I support the additional
hiring of officers and staff but hoped that it could be spread out over a few years. A subsequent budget was delivered to
Regional Council with a decreased hiring plan and a reduced budget plan resulting in .88 per cent tax increase. For more
information please visit:
Rising police costs worry politicians
http://news.therecord.com/news/local/article/642124
"Chief makes pitch for new hires"
Waterloo Regional Police got the opportunity at Wednesday's regional budget meeting to pitch a plan to hire 20 new officers in
2010
http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/local/article/230109--chief-makes-pitch-for-new-hires
- 2010 Regional Budget
Regional Council approved the 2010 budget. This budget balances the need to maintain existing services while keeping tax
increases reasonable. The 2.61 per cent increase consists of 1.73 per cent to Regional services and 0.88 per cent for Police
services. The increase will impact the average household by $37.46. The budget struck a balance between reducing programs in
certain areas and modest service improvements to Police; poverty reduction programs and Grand River Transit. For more
information please visit:
"Regional tax hike at 2.6 per cent"
Regional councillors have approved a 2.6 per cent property tax increase for 2010, citing the need for fiscal prudence during
tough economic times.
http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/local/article/405140--regional-tax-hike-at-2-6-per-cent
Regional taxes to rise 2.6 per cent
http://news.therecord.com/news/local/article/656051
Thanks for your continued interest in local affairs.
Sincerely,
Sean Strickland
Regional Councillor
Chair, Community Services Committee |
