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-' ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - 77 iM tt>t ~ 4<M 4 t ORO<N WEELY T1ES<~AUGUS 2St,à74- Queen's Park RE: AMBULANCE SERVICE Dear Sir: The reports respecting the ambulance service in Port Hope appearing in tbe local press on hMonday, August 20th and Tuesday, August 21, are worthy, I believe, of some comment and clarification. The present controversy began with the transfer of the operation from Mr., Fawkes, the former operator, to Mr. Harry McDougall of Cobourg and the name of the ambulan- ce changing from the "Port Hope Ambulance" to "The Cobourg and Area Ambulance Service." I have been involved in all the discussions which have taken place with respect to the service; investigated all reported delays in service; met with the drivers and obtained their viewpoints; shared viewpoints with the hospital board: discussed the matter with the Port Hope council; contacted citizens who were involved in reported delays in service: met with Mr. Brubacher and Mr. Scott of the provincial ambulance service and am, I believe, fully informed as to the province's objectives in the development of good ambul- ance service. My investigations over the 'st weeks and the accounts -ý, the local press lead me to believe there bas been consid- erable understanding with the result that certain wrong impressions have been creat- ed in the public mind. A list of these follows: 1. Tbat Port Hope bas lost its ambulance service and that efforts should be made to have the full service reinstat- ed. If by 'full service' is meant, an ambulance manned 24 hours per day in Port Hope, it must be noted that at no time did Port Hope ever have such service. .Previous to the present change, the ambulance 'was manned during the day with the drivers 'on call' from 6 p.m. in the evening to 8 a.m. in the morning. Under the present arrange- ment, the ambulance' is stat- ioned at the Port Hope hospital, during the day and manned, and on alternate weeks, at night, the drivers are on call. In other words, for one week the Port Hope ambulance is manned at night and the next week Cobourg is manned during the same hours. This is an improve- ment in service and when a central location has been established, witb the ambul- ances housed in a heated garage(at the present time, I am advised, The Port Hope ambulance is located out of doors at aIl times) the equipment will be manned 24 hours per day. This will eliminate the present unsatis- factory system whereby the drivers are either called out of bed or from some function they are attending. During the past two or tbree weeks, when the Port Hope ambulance was on call, the ambulance was stationed in Cobourg, This was due to th< lack of back-up drivers at night in Port Hope; one of the Port Hope drivers having moved to Cobourg and anoth- er living in Peterborough. Witb the vaction period over next week, tbe former policy will be readopted. This ser- vice, as in tbe past, is backed Up by the Cobourg ambulance and the policy is to retain at all times, either the Cobourg or Port Hope ambulance within the service area, relying on the Colborne am- bulance in an emergency for any transfer of patients from one hospital to another. 2. That there have been unnecessary delays in the ambulance reaching the scene of an accident or the home of a patient. Every case brought to my attention has been investigat- ed and efforts made to determine when and by whom the call for service was made. From the operator, I was able to obtain a copy of the time sheet which indicated the time the call was received, the time the ambulance left, the time it arrived at the scene and the time of arrival at the hospital. No record is available, however, for the time lapse, if any, between the time of the accident and thé time the call for an ambulance was made. In practically every case there was a difference between the report of the delay given by individuals and the time recorded at the dispatching office. In some instances, the delay was due to lack of information as to the location of the problem. On August 22nd, a recording facility is to be installed at the dispatch office to record each call received. This will remove any doubt as to the time the ambulance left the central station or the time the call was received. 3. That the emergency am- bulance service at the town hall in Port Hope bas been eliminated. This service is in use and manned 24 hours per day. Calls to this office are immediately transferred to the Cobourg dispatching stat- ion. For about a montb this equipment was out of order due, I understand, to a lightning storm. When I learned of this, I made enquiries at the local emer- gency office, the clerk's office and the police office, to ascertain whose responsibil- ity it was to have it repaired. No one seemed to know so I phoned the service depart- ment of Bell Telephone and the necessary repairs were made. I was unable, either through the business office of Bell in Cobourg or Oshawa, to determine, how the service is leased. Apparently from the information I have been able to obtaji up to the present, it forms part of the account of the town of Port Hope, together with the fire and police service My investigat- ion in this regard is continuing and' Bell (Oshawa) is to advise me further. 4. That the Port Hope ser- vice bas lost its identity through the removal of the name 'Port Hope' from the ambulance. In order to comply with his radio licence and registration, the service was required to be under one name. While pre- pared to make a change, there are costs involved and if an amalgamation of the muni- cipalities takes place, it would seem logical to await that decision. In my opinion, a change could be made sooner if agreement can be reached and the name 'Great Pine Ridge Ambulance Service' bas been suggested. 5. That calls for the ambul- ance must be made to 372-6841. Cobourg. While the 885-2132 number in Port Hope is being elimin- ated and replaced by the Cobourg number. the ambul- ànce can be reached, as in the past, by calling the hospital, by dialing the emergency service 885-8141 or '0' for operator. When a central station bas been established the present confusion will be eliminated and the province will under- take a publicity campaign to inform the citizens of the area of the service available and the method of obtaining amnbulance service, not only ocally, but anywhere in tbe province. It should be noted, ambul- FRIDAY AFTERNOON School Parade at1.30 p.m. Prizes for Floats, Decorated Bicycles Pet Show and Contest Dairy Princess Show Holstein Show - Sheep Show 4-H Club Day Fat CaIf Show at 3.30 p.m. Fun for everyone at Robertson Midway SATURDAY AFTERNOON HORSE PARADE AT 1.00 p.m. Light & Heavy Horse Show Guernseys - Ayrshires - Jerseys Beef Cattle Show WHITBY BRASS BAND Music by Harry Hibbs and Group Rabbits, Poultry, Baking, Flowers, Needlework, Junior Work, Machinery Orono Times Print, Orono ances outside of Metropolitan Toronto are owned, generally throughout Ontario, by the province, having been taken over the purpose of eliminat- ing the discrep'ancies in services and organizing them on an area basis. This takes time but when completed it will result in efficient and dependable service, fully manned on a 24 hours basis by trained operators who have undergone an enlarged train- ing program. A few weeks ago I met with the Port Hope council regardi ng tbe ambulance service and because of conflicting view- points and reports, I suggest- ed that the committee appointed at that meeting give me its views and questions in writing. No doubt these are presently being formulated and when I receive tbem I will be pleased to present them to the millistry for, ConisidIra tion . Yours vr)truly, Alex Carruthers, IMPP Durhami DURHAMCENTRAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY Clarke High School Will resume classes for the 1974-75 semester on Tuesday, Sept. 3rd At 9:00 a. m. any student new to the area may preregister on Thursday, August29 and Friday, August 30, 1974 Please phone the school (987-4842) for anappointment ORO G THURSDAY,FRIDAYAND SA NO TURDAY 5,67