It has been reported in the Guelph Mercury of January 7th, that the “roaming” ambulance which is based in Fergus, and which travels to Erin during the day, is not sustainable in the long term due to health and safety concerns and is not consistent with the goals of reducing carbon emissions and conserving fuel. There are several options to correct this. From Erin’s point of view, the easiest is to base the ambulance in Erin at the bay dedicated to it in the new family health clinic, or at the new firehall in Hillsburgh. Guelph has not supported this concept in the past due to the expense. Another alternative would be to enter into a compensation agreement with surrounding municipalities to pay them when they respond to calls in Wellington County. This is a common response in other municipalities, but has been resisted at Guelph, and led to Peel and others restricting their entry to Erin to Code 4 emergencies. A final option would be to work with the existing fire department to raise the medical competency level to Paramedic 1 and 2, and have the fire department respond to calls in the Town. It would require funding from Guelph to train and equip the department and pay for the operating costs, but it would be less expensive than a full-time ambulance service. Guelph must not shy away from their responsibility to provide the Town of Erin with an adequate level of ambulance service.
Rod Finnie