ALBERTA, Canada -- An emailed leaked by says Calgary paramedics were asked to give money to help pay for ambulance supplies.
“A few days ago EMS workers right here in Calgary received an email asking them to contribute to a new employee giving program,” the New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Rachel Notley told CBC News. “This program is asking paramedics to pay out of their own pockets for their own supplies for their own ambulances.”
The EMS Employee Giving Program program asks Alberta Health Services providers to donate to a the EMS Foundation through a payroll deduction program. The email says the money would go toward EMS equipment such as power stretchers, and foundation programs like Capsule of Life and Project Smile.
Alberta Health Services says it pays for all essential equipment in ambulances, and the private foundation asks staff and the public for voluntary donations to enhance patient care.
The NDP said in a press release that the EMS supply budget was slashed by 64 percent between 2009 and 2013.
“Paramedics need this equipment to do their jobs and their job is to save lives,” the release says. “They shouldn’t have to pay for necessary equipment or turn to a charity to get it.”
Leaked email (supplied by NDP)
