Alberta easing paramedic witness rules
Ambulance personnel wary of talking, police say
Last Updated: Thursday, November 19, 2009 | 2:01 PM ET
CBC News
Calgary police are applauding a new provincial bill that would allow paramedics and other emergency personnel to disclose key eyewitness information.
Bill 62, the Emergency Health Services Amendment Act, is set for second reading Thursday in the legislature. If passed, it would go into effect early next year.
When police, firefighters and Emergency Medical Services 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 them under additional requirements of the Health Information Act, which covers the collection, use and disclosure of medical records.
That has led to information not being fully exchanged between emergency responders, police say.
Paramedics who were first on the scene of a crime or a collision won't describe what the scene was like before they moved people for treatment, Chief Rick Hanson has said. In one case, police wanting to take photos of a seriously hurt person in hospital were turned down.
Police took their concerns to the provincial government, which responded with this bill, police spokesman Kevin Brookwell said Wednesday.
