EMERGENCY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES COMMITTEE

MINUTES EPSC-2007-3

The Emergency and Protective Services Committee met on Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 9:34 a.m., in the Council Chamber, Regional Administrative Headquarters, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Brampton.

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* See text for arrivals
¨See text for departures

Chaired by Regional Chair Kolb

1. DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST - Nil

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION EPSC-11-2007:

That the agenda for the October 11, 2007 Emergency and Protective Services Committee meeting be amended to include a communication item from the City of Brampton regarding Brampton Fire and Emergency Services and Peel Paramedic Service Co-Location, to be dealt with under Communications, as Item 5d;

And further, that the agenda for the October 11, 2007, Emergency and Protective Services Committee meeting be approved , as amended.

See also Communications – Item 5d

3. DELEGATIONS/PRESENTATIONS - Nil

4. REPORTS

Councillor Adams arrived at 9:50 a.m.

a) Enhancement of Regional Emergency Management Program
Presentation by Charlotte Gravlev, Regional Clerk and Director, Clerk’s Division and Andre Luc Beauregard, Manager, Regional Emergency Management

Received

RECOMMENDATION EPSC-12-2007:

That an Emergency Management Program Committee (EMPC) be established pursuant to Ontario Regulation 380/04 in accordance with the Terms of Reference attached as Appendix III to the report of the Commissioner of Corporate Services and Regional Solicitor, dated October 2, 2007, titled “Enhancement of Regional Emergency Management Program”;

And further, that pursuant to the Terms of Reference, the EMPC shall be composed of the members of the Emergency and Protective Services Committee (EPSC) of Regional Council and the members of the Regional Emergency Control Group as identified in the Region of Peel Emergency Plan;

And further, that the implementation of the Region of Peel Strategic Plan through the projects and resources identified in the report, be endorsed;

And further, that the projects identified to strengthen the Emergency Management Program be submitted for consideration in the 2008 Current and Capital budget submission for the Corporate Services Department.

Councillor Mullin inquired if there is any provincial funding allocated for Emergency Management Program ( EMP). R. Kent Gillespie, Commissioner of Corporate Services and Regional Solicitor responded that the Region of Peel does not receive yearly provincial funding for the Regional Emergency Management Program, however staff can recover the funds for the amount of work hours spent providing support to the Province as a result of a formal request for assistance.

Councillor Mullin inquired as to how the Emergency Management Program Committee will function as a new committee. R. Kent Gillespie noted that the Ontario Regulation requires that every municipality should have an emergency program committee. Charlotte Gravlev, Regional Clerk and Director, Clerk’s division explained that the terms of reference for the new committee would be separate from Emergency and Protective Services Committee, therefore, both committees would have their own membership and the voting requirements for the two committees will be different. She explained that the role of the new EMPC committee is to review, create awareness, and provide feedback on the development of the program.

Councillor Mullin inquired if the new EMPC committee members other than Regional Councillors would have a vote when a specific issue is discussed. R. Kent Gillespie responded that the members of the proposed Emergency Management Program Committee (EMPC) would include Regional Councillors appointed as members of EPSC and the Regional Control Group which would include the Fire Coordinator and the Executive Management Team (EMT) and others would all be entitled to vote.

Regional Chair Kolb requested that staff review the budget plan for any opportunity for phasing the proposed projects over one or two years.

Councillor Paterak requested that staff prepare a reference document for Members of Council, which would identify meanings of acronyms commonly used by Regional departments.

Regional Chair Kolb inquired if the current emergency management plan includes emergency incidents affecting areas such as highways and airports. Charlotte Gravlev responded that all potential emergency incidents are included in the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) document. Andre Luc Beauregard noted that the Region has worked with the airport on several emergency plans; such as mass fatality, mass casualty and transportation. Peel Region Emergency staff are also involved with other related emergency management committees to ensure policies and procedures are consistent and appropriate.

Garry Morden, Fire Chief, City of Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services commented that he is satisfied with the Region’s ability to handle a crisis. He added that there is a lot of good communication among Community Emergency Management Coordinators, the Region, and from the area municipalities. He stressed, it takes good communication, a good management system and a good emergency plan to bring the key decision-makers together to solve problems.

b) HealthAnalytics Report Feasibility Study Project - Project Status Update
Presentation by Joe Freedman, Principal, J.D. Freedman and Associates and Peter Dundas, Director, Peel Regional Paramedic Services

Received

RECOMMENDATION EPSC-13-2007:

That Regional staff be directed to not proceed with the Deployment and Scheduling feasibility study in favour of year-over-year modifications to the Peel Regional Paramedic Service (PRPS) Deployment and Scheduling plan to correspond to the development of new EMS facilities planned over the next 10 years.

c) Hospital Medic Program Feasibility Study: Summary of Findings
Presentation by Joe Freedman, Principal, J.D. Freedman and Associates and Peter Dundas, Director, Peel Regional Paramedic Services

Received

Councillor Mullin noted that St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto currently does not have a Hospital Medic Program but have implemented several strategies to reduce offload delays in the hospital. She inquired if staff are considering some of the successful initiatives of St. Joseph’s Health Centre in reducing offload delays. Peter Dundas, Director, Peel Regional Paramedic Services responded that St. Joseph ’s Health Centre in Toronto previously had the highest offload delays in comparison with other hospitals. He noted that Ken Deane, CEO and senior management at St. Joseph’s Health Centre were committed to ensuring offload delays do not occur in the hospital. It was also noted that a number of the recommendations contained within the KPMG report are from the St. Joe’s strategies.

Councillor Mullin noted that Toronto has successfully implemented the Emergency Medical Services ( EMS) Destination Software System. She suggested that Peel consider implementing the same or similar software to increase communication and exchange of information between ambulance, dispatch centres, paramedics and the hospitals in Peel. Peter Dundas responded that EMS Destination Software System was developed by Toronto and was implemented as part of their communication system. He explained that the technology can be successfully implemented in Toronto because they manage their own communication system. He advised that the EMS technology between the City of Toronto and the Province are not compatible. Several letters requesting this software have been written to the province both from the Regional Chair, Emil Kolb and also the Halton Peel Emergency Services Network with a negative response.

Councillor Mullin requested that the recommendations be categorized into the following for presentation to Regional Council: attainable action plans; commitment by hospitals and Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs); and required provincial support.

Councillor Thompson inquired about the cost of the EMS Destination Software System. He also asked what is the role of St. John’s Ambulance. Peter Dundas responded that he does not have the exact cost of the EMS software. He stated that St. John’s Ambulance is a non-profit organization that provides first aid treatment and St. John’s Ambulance is not certified to transport patients.

Councillor Adams inquired if Regional Chair Kolb received a response letter from the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care regarding the need to implement a new call triaging system. Regional Chair Kolb advised that he has not received a response letter from the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. He undertook to write a letter advising all of the issues and concerns that were addressed at the meeting.

Councillor Adams commented that hospitals are willing to participate in reducing offload delays but are concerned about hospital funding. She inquired if LHIN CEOs are willing to provide funding assistance for additional emergency doctors or nurses needed to reduce offload delays. Peter Dundas advised that the CEOs have never committed to funding the 16 recommendations but they do support them and are willing to work with all parties. He added that the area hospital and LHIN CEOs directed the Halton-Peel Emergency Service Network (HPESN) to report back to the Region and CEOs the timelines and deliverables related to each of the recommendations. He added that additional Emergency Department physicians might require additional funding from the LHINs.

Councillor Adams noted that an emergency doctor from Credit Valley Hospital has expressed concern regarding problems in emergency rooms. She noted that there should be specific timeframes for immediate transfer of care protocol. Councillor Adams asked if there are other regions in the province that have transfer of care protocol. Peter Dundas responded that the Region of Peel was the first municipality that implemented the transfer of care protocol. He noted that Peel had an agreement with area hospitals. Area hospital CEOs supported the strategy in 2004. The Region of Niagara has used the Region’s transfer of care protocol to develop their own. He stated that there is no standard protocol for transfer of care. He addressed the health care crisis issues such as getting patients moved through the hospital to alternative levels of care such as long-term care centres.

David Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer noted that the meeting and staff collaborations with the hospitals and LHINs were very positive. He further added that he is optimistic about the partnerships built between senior management in the hospitals and the paramedics in finding the best ways to solve and reduce offload delays in the hospitals.

Councillor Mullin inquired as to the role and authority of Local Health Integrated Networks (LHIN) with the hospitals. Janette Smith, Commissioner of Health Services stated that the LHINs role includes planning and funding hospitals; home care; mental health; long-term care and community support services. She attends a regular monthly meeting with each LHIN CEO in order to address health issues which impact the Region. Councillor Mullin requested that LHIN CEOs be invited to attend a Regional Council meeting to speak to their role and responsibility with the hospitals and communities of Peel including the offload issue.

RECOMMENDATION EPSC-14-2007:

That the report from KPMG titled “The Region of Peel Paramedic Services: Hospital Medic Feasibility Study”, attached as Appendix I to the report of the Commissioner of Health Services, dated September 20, 2007, titled “Hospital Medic Program Feasibility Study: Summary of Findings”, be received;

And further, that the recommendation from KPMG to not proceed with the implementation of a Hospital Medic Program, be endorsed;

And further, that the 16 recommendations contained in Appendix I to the subject report for addressing the offload delay problem, be endorsed;

And further, that the Commissioner of Health Services work with the Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN) to implement strategies to reduce the number of Appropriate Level of Care (ALC) clients in the hospitals;

And further, that Regional staff be directed to present a motion for consideration by Regional Council to identify the under capacity of acute and long-term care beds in the Region as a key factor contributing to the offload delay problem;

And further, that the Regional Chair communicate the above noted issue to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

d) Paramedic Services - 10 Year Facility Capital Plan

Presentation by Janette Smith, Commissioner of Health Services, Dan Labrecque, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and Peter Dundas, Director, Peel Regional Paramedic Services

Received

5. COMMUNICATIONS

a) Dennis Brown, Senior Manager, Operations and Quality Management, Emergency Health Services Branch, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Memo dated July 31, 2007, Advising that Emergency Health Services will be Undertaking a Review and Update of the Provincial Equipment Standards for Ontario Ambulance Services

Received

b) Dan Van Londersele, Chair, Ontario 9-1-1 Advisory Board, Letter dated August 1, 2007 Requesting Municipalities to Provide Financial Support to the 9-1-1 Ontario Advisory Board

RECOMMENDATION EPSC-15-2007:

Whereas, The Ontario 9-1-1 Advisory Board was formed at the request of Ontario Municipalities;

And whereas, it is now in great need of financial assistance in order to continue to represent our ratepayers in the face of ever-increasing technological advancement;

And whereas, technological advancement and deregulation of the local telephone market makes it necessary to represent municipalities and ratepayers at the Canadian Radio Telecommunication Commission (CTRC) and the CTRC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) on a regular basis;

Therefore be it resolved, that the municipality of the Region of Peel contributes $100 to the Ontario 9-1-1 Advisory Board in order to allow it to continue to advance a safe delivery of 9-1-1 system for police, fire and ambulance emergency services in our municipalities and throughout the Province.

c) Malcolm Bates, Director, Emergency Health Services Branch, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Letter dated August 17, 2007, Advising of Approved Funding for 2007-2008 to Assist with the Implementation of Mobile Computers and Global Positioning System (GPS)/Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) Hardware in Emergency Medical Service Vehicles

Received

Additional Item – 5d:

d) Sonya Pacheco, Legislative Coordinator, City Clerk’s Office, City of Brampton, Letter dated September 28, 2007, Advising of a Resolution Approved by the Council of the Corporation of the City of Brampton on September 26, 2007, Regarding Brampton Fire and Emergency Services and Peel Paramedic Service Co-Location

Received

See also Approval of Agenda

Councillor Mullin departed at 11:45 a.m.

6. IN CAMERA MATTERS

Committee moved In Camera at 11:45 a.m.

a) Labour relations or employee negotiations

Committee moved out of In Camera at 12:15 p.m.

7. OTHER BUSINESS - Nil

8. NEXT MEETING

9. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 12:15 p.m.