'Enhanced' ambulance service coming to areas just north of Saskatoon

B.C. Ambulance paramedic Jeff Booton cleans his ambulance at station 233 in Lions Bay, B.C. Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jonathan Hayward)

Saskatoon — The Saskatchewan government has announced its plan to improve ambulance service in communities north of Saskatoon.

“Our government is following through on this spring’s budget commitment of $6.57 million to enhance emergency medical services in Saskatchewan,” Martensville-Warman MLA Terry Jenson said in a news release.

The government and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) will introduce "enhanced" ambulance service, based in the community of Martensville starting this month.

The province has earmarked $1.16 million in annual funding for the plan.

"This enhancement will provide improved EMS service to supplement first responder services to the area and communities such as Warman, Martensville, Borden, Dalmeny, Hepburn, Langham, and Osler," SHA provincial programs director Rod MacKenzie said in the release.

"The SHA has been studying historical need and growing demands for ambulance services, response times to and from various communities just north of Saskatoon, and demographics and growth patterns for communities in the area to identify the response base for the new service," MacKenzie said.

The SHA will phase in the service with 12 hours of service per day in November before moving to 24-hour service in March 2022, according to the province.

EMS provider Medavie Health Services West will set up and staff the Martensville response base.