Ground and air ambulance services

Ground ambulance services

Ground ambulance services have been the responsibility of the provincial health authority, Alberta Health Services (AHS), since April 2009.

AHS and more than 40 contracted emergency medical service (EMS) operators supply ground ambulance services throughout Alberta. There are over 370,000 events each year, involving more than 500 ambulance vehicles and 3,000 EMS practitioners. Ground ambulance services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year.

In emergency situations, EMS crews stabilize people who are injured or sick and transport people to the nearest health care facility if further treatment is needed.

Air ambulance services

The provincial health authority contracts 12 fixed-wing aircraft to provide 24-hour air ambulance services throughout the province.

The base locations of the fixed-wing aircraft are: Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Fort Vermilion, Grande Prairie, High Level, Lac La Biche, Medicine Hat, Peace River and Slave Lake.

AHS also has an affiliation agreement with Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) to ensure rotary air ambulance service is provided from bases in Calgary, Edmonton, and Grande Prairie.

Physicians, hospitals or emergency medical services personnel arrange air ambulance services through the Central Communication Centre in Edmonton.

Members of the public cannot make arrangements for provincial air ambulance services independently.