Government and Island EMS sign new agreement

A new Emergency Health Services Agreement with Island EMS focuses on improving and modernizing service delivery, transparency and accountability for emergency health services on Prince Edward Island. 

The agreement covers ground ambulance services, inter-facility transfers, medical communications and dispatch, and community paramedicine. The agreement was awarded through a public request for Expression of Interest (EOI), and includes a redesigned cost-recovery funding model, performance standards, key performance indicators, government oversight and reporting requirements.

“Government worked in collaboration with Island EMS to rebuild the agreement from the ground up. We created tools within this agreement to support flexibility, quality improvement, transparency and accountability to ensure the needs of Islanders are met now and into the future.”

— Mark McLane, Minister of Health and Wellness

Negotiations began in summer 2024 and included representatives from the Department of Health and Wellness, Island EMS and Health PEI. As part of the agreement, a new Quality, Safety and Performance Committee was established to monitor and evaluate performance, safety and service quality with a focus on continuous system improvement. 

The agreement also includes funding for an additional 24/7 emergency ambulance shared between Charlottetown and Stratford to help improve emergency response due to increased 9-1-1 call volumes. The most recent median provincial response time was 16 minutes and 13 seconds.  

“Island EMS is committed to evolving to meet the changing needs of Islanders,” said James Orchard, General Manager, Island EMS. “By introducing new initiatives like community paramedicine response units, we’re enhancing how and where we deliver care. We’re ensuring our skilled teams are ready to respond when Islanders need us most.”

A new clinical support position at the Medical Communications and Dispatch Centre has been created to support patient navigation to the right healthcare resources, at the right time, and in the most appropriate setting.

The previous agreement was developed in 2006 and the emergency medical services landscape, including the paramedicine profession, has changed drastically since that time. The new agreement is for five years with the ability to extend twice for an additional three years at each extension.

This agreement focuses on the delivery of emergency health services and performance. Wages and compensation are covered under the collective agreement between CUPE and Island EMS, which expires in December 2025. The collective bargaining process between CUPE and Island EMS is currently underway.

For more information, visit Emergency Health Services | Government of Prince Edward Island.

Media contact:
Maureen Coulter
Department of Health and Wellness
maureencoulter@gov.pe.ca