Concerned paramedics in Northumberland County in Ontario are mobilizing community support for a public ambulance service.
Through radio and print ads with the message Seconds Save Lives! they are calling on local residents to contact local councillors and urge them to reject a move to hand over ambulance services to a private, for-profit company.
CUPE 2247 president Wanda Tucker, who represents both hospital workers and paramedics at the Cambellford Memorial Hospital, urged county council to follow the lead of Ontario municipalities that have chosen a public model for delivering emergency medical services.
“This delivery model is not only the most accountable to the public, but study after study has shown it is the most cost-efficient as well,” said Tucker.