Plans to close the EMS station in Riverton aren't sitting well with RM of Bifrost-Riverton Reeve Harold Foster.
Riverton is one of the communities that will lose its ambulance station as part of the recent province-wide EMS overhaul announced by the provincial government. Foster says the Riverton ambulance services a winter-time population of about 2,500 people and that number jumps to nearly 8,000 in the summer, as cabin-goers flood areas like Beaver Creek, Hecla and Grindstone Provincial Park.
Foster has concerns about wait times for Riverton and area, with the plan being to add a second ambulance in Arborg, which will become the closest service centre.
"It's going to affect a whole lot. And it's not just our municipality, there's a whole lot north of us," Foster explains. "We have one ambulance and they want to put another in Arborg and pull this one, which makes it another 20-25 minutes in travel time.
"Our medical service being what it is, we have one (on-call) doctor in Riverton and we have a nurse practitioner part-time," continues Foster. "Our last resort is the paramedics, and now they want to pull them. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever."
Foster adds, cutting services in rural communities also hurts the overall appeal and may cause people to leave.
See related stories:
Fri, Apr 19, 2:00 PM
Transport
Featured
