Privacy rules impede emergency responders: police chief
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | 6:45 PM MT
CBC News
Police Chief Rick Hanson, seen in July 2008, said differing privacy rules between emergency responders are hampering some police investigations. (CBC) Different privacy rules governing police, who work for the city, and paramedics, who now work for the province, are hampering investigations, says Calgary's police chief.
Critical information is being withheld from officers because of new privacy rules that Emergency Medical Services personnel must follow, Chief Rick Hanson told the aldermanic committee on community and protective services Wednesday.
"[If] we're responding to a stabbing, we get to the scene of that event, we need to know as much information as possible relative to the nature of the injury, the circumstances when the medics may have gotten there, information around the identity of the individual, if that person is already in an ambulance. These are things that were just freely shared before," said Hanson.
When police, firefighters and EMS staff all worked for the city, they were bound by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
In April, however, the province took over ambulance services, bringing the additional requirement of the Health Information Act, which covers the collection, use and disclosure of health records.
That has led to information not being fully exchanged between emergency responders.
"We had a situation where our members wished to take pictures of a seriously injured person at the time who had already reached the hospital, and we're not allowed to take those photos in the hospital," said Hanson.
'It's completely unacceptable if there's ever a stop of information that is going to protect one of our members, a police officer, a firefighter.'—Rick Fraser, union representative
"We are trying to fix it before it becomes an even greater problem and results in those things like, as was just mentioned, where investigations are put at risk."
There have been times a patient had a communicable disease, and firefighters had to wait for confirmation, said Calgary fire Chief Bruce Burrell.
"Of course, it depends on what they're being exposed to, but you know we used to get almost instant notification very quickly, usually from the crew that took them to the hospital," he said.
EMS staff are just as frustrated, but can't change the rules, said Rick Fraser, president of CUPE local 3421 that represents EMS workers.
"It's completely unacceptable if there's ever a stop of information that is going to protect one of our members, a police officer, a firefighter, the people who are doing the public safety work and of course the patients," Fraser told CBC News.
The offices of Alberta's justice minister and solicitor general are working on a permanent solution by March, but Hanson said something needs to be done sooner before the information gap gets worse.
