Once again the local paramedic service is trying to get a share of the money patients pay for ambulance services.
For years, the local Paramedic Service has been asking the province for its share of the $45 paid by the patient when receiving ambulance service.
Of that $45, $15 goes to the province and $30 to the hospital where the patient is taken. None of it goes to the ambulance service.
Now, the Ministry of Heath is asking for comments related to changes in the Ambulance Act.
Chief of Paramedic Services Doug Socha told the Hastings-Quinte Emergency Services Committee on Wednesday that he has written to the ministry suggesting what he considers a better solution.
Patients are not charged that $45 fee for inter-facility transfers.
In his letter to the Ministry of Health, Socha writes: “With proposed new changes that may have patients transferred to alternative sites, I think the co-payment bill needs to be re-examined. The current regulation ties the co-payment to a transport decision. I feel this funding could be used to support paramedic services. This could be for innovative programs such as community paramedicine, offering care to keep patients in their homes, or investing in paramedic services to meet community demands.”
Patients are not charged that $45 fee for inter-facility transfers.
