Members Present:	S. McFadden; P. Palleschi; R. Paterak; P. Saito
Members Absent:	S. Hames, due to vacation; E. Kolb, due to a personal matter
Also Present:	D. Szwarc, Chief Administrative Officer; J. Smith, Commissioner of Health Services; N. Trim, Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Corporate Services; P. Dundas, Chief and Director, Peel Regional Paramedic Services; T. Irwin, Fire Chief, Town of Caledon Fire and Emergency Services; K. Lockyer, Regional Clerk; C. Law, Committee Clerk; H. Gill, Acting Legislative Assistant

Chaired by Councillor P. Palleschi


1. DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST - Nil

2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

RECOMMENDATION EPSC-1-2013:

That the agenda for the January 31, 2013 Emergency and Protective Services Committee meeting, be approved.

3. DELEGATIONS - Nil

4. REPORTS

a) Paramedic Offload Delay Update

Presentation by Peter Dundas, Chief and Director, Peel Regional Paramedic Services and Kiki Ferrari, Executive Director, Access and Flow, William Osler Health System

Received

A copy of the presentation is available from the Office of the Regional Clerk.

Peter Dundas, Director and Chief, Peel Regional Paramedic Services, and Kiki Ferrari, Executive Director, Access and Flow, William Osler Health System, provided an update on the initiatives undertaken by both Paramedic Services and the William Osler Health System, in partnership, to reduce the offload delay time at Brampton Civic Hospital (BCH). By bringing together all stakeholders as a working group for suggestions on solutions, and implementing measures according to Lean Six Sigma, a mitigation and potential downward trend in the amount of offload delay time has been realized.

Councillor Paterak inquired whether by ‘offload hours’ the presenters meant time loss for ambulances or the time loss per paramedic. Peter Dundas responded that in this context, staff calculated it per ambulance, which would mean the equivalent of five 24-hour vehicles lost throughout the year due to offload delay.

In response to a question from Councillor Paterak, Kiki Ferrari noted that the average cost of a hospital emergency room visit is $240 and this number would be significantly lower in a walk-in clinic or urgent care centre setting if the visits were comparable.

In response to a question from Councillor Saito, Kiki Ferrari noted that the amount of walk-in clinics in the City of Brampton has grown, and there are ongoing discussions with all primary care providers to establish longer hours during the off-peak times, as well as, breaking down the silos that continue to exist in the health care system.

Councillor Saito inquired if the Commissioner of Health Services could provide Members of Council with a summary of the health services options across the Region of Peel, so that Councillors can answer questions from residents and provide them with contact information.

Janette Smith, Commissioner of Health Services, inquired whether the Committee Members would see value in the presentation coming to a future Regional Council meeting so all Members of Council could hear about the partnership and the reduction in offload delay time. Councillor Saito agreed and directed that the presentation be provided at a future meeting of Regional Council.

Councillor Palleschi inquired when emergency departments begin redirecting patients and new calls to other locations due to volume. Kiki Ferrari noted, that even with the higher than average numbers seen at BCH, a code orange to redirect patients elsewhere is rare. Peter Dundas further noted that the paramedics are in constant communication with hospital staff to redirect with lower acuity patients if necessary, but this redirection cannot happen with higher acuity or emergency patients.

In response to a question from Councillor Palleschi, Kiki Ferrari noted that BCH is the first hospital in Ontario to have more than one doctor in the emergency department at night and that there is always an emergency doctor on site.

b) Non-Emergency Inter-Facility Patient Transportation Services in Ontario

Received

5. COMMUNICATIONS - Nil

6. IN CAMERA MATTERS - Nil

7. OTHER BUSINESS - Nil

8. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Emergency and Protective Services Committee is scheduled for Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., Council Chamber, 5 th floor, Regional Administrative Headquarters, Suite A, 10 Peel Centre Drive, Brampton, Ontario.

Please forward regrets to Curtiss Law, Legislative Specialist, (905) 791-7800, ext. 4330 or at curtiss.law@peelregion.ca.

9. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m.