Letter to the editor,

As the new President and Chief Executive Officer of Ambulance New Brunswick, I would like to provide an assessment and some important information regarding our coverage of the Campbellton, Bathurst and Dalhousie regions – and in New Brunswick as a whole.

Ambulance New Brunswick was created by the Government of New Brunswick in December 2007 to deliver a world-class land, air and emergency dispatch ambulance service throughout the province.

Since our inception, the dedicated and professional staff of Ambulance New Brunswick have accomplished a great deal.

• Ambulances now responding to any call within the province arrive with the same standard of equipment, defibrillation instruments and clinical supplies.
• Standardization of clinical skills by paramedics to the "Primary Care Paramedic" level. In addition, our paramedics are trained in an additional set of skills such as advanced airway management, IV fluid and medication administration.
• To meet the geographical diversity and patient care demands of the province, Ambulance New Brunswick has added nearly 200 paramedics to the system in full-time and part-time roles and has added nearly 25,000 ambulance unit hours (i.e. hours that an ambulance is available) to the entire provincial system since start-up, enhancing performance.
• Last year alone, Ambulance New Brunswick responded to 108,000 calls. Our air ambulance service performed more than 800 emergency calls and flew nearly 650,000 kilometers transporting sick and injured patients to specialized hospital care across the Maritimes and as far as Toronto, London and Montreal. The medical crews on board these aircraft are trained and perform to a standard that equals the best in the country.

ANB is required to respond to emergencies in nine minutes or less in urban areas and 22 minutes or less in rural areas. The location that we position our ambulances in the province is designed in order to meet these targets. We currently operate stations in Campbellton, Dalhousie, Belledune and Bathurst which are providing 24/7/365 emergency coverage and we are meeting our performance objectives in these areas.

At this time, Ambulance New Brunswick only notifies three fire departments as Medical First Responders (Saint John, Memramcook and Riverview). In other areas, we do occasionally request MFR assistance, based on specific circumstances. Each MFR determines whether they will respond to our request, based on their availability, training level, etc.

Furthermore, Ambulance New Brunswick is working with the provincial government to discuss the possibility of the implementation of a province-wide Medical First Responders program.

The tremendous job our nearly 1,000 paramedics, emergency medical dispatchers and flight nurses are doing was echoed in last year’s satisfaction survey which showed that New Brunswickers who have used ambulance services were very satisfied with the services they received. The patients expressed an overall satisfaction rating above 9.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Your paramedics care about the communities they serve. For the most part, your paramedics live in the communities they serve. They participate in local activities, such as seniors’ expos, children’s fairs, school visits and fundraisers for various charities.　

Ambulance New Brunswick’s paramedics, dispatchers, flight nurses and support services personnel are equal to any of their counterparts across the country. They are highly trained, dedicated, and fully understand the critical and vital role they play.

While we indeed face challenges, each offers us an opportunity to improve our services. We do not – and will not – shy away from those challenges regardless of how difficult they may be.

We have put in place dynamic processes to identify, correct and measure our success in meeting those challenges. Ultimately, it is you – our patients and your families – who will benefit from our commitment to constantly strive for excellence.

Alan Stephen
President and CEO
Ambulance New Brunswick