911
Call 911 if you or someone else has a life-threatening or urgent medical condition such as:
- chest pain, difficulty breathing or unconsciousness
- serious injury or trauma
- stroke symptoms
- severe bleeding
Ground Ambulance Services
The Provincial Health Corporation (PHC), Emergency Health Services – Alberta (EHS – Alberta) provides ground ambulance services across the province of Alberta, working in partnership with 31 other licenced ambulance operators.
- EHS is available 24/7 across Alberta.
- Ambulances are staffed by ambulance attendants consisting of regulated Paramedics and Emergency Medical Responders.
- Over 750,000 events occur each year, involving approximately 1000 ambulance vehicles with around 4,200 EHS practitioners providing care.
Air Ambulance Services
Air ambulance services include both fixed-wing aircraft (planes) and rotary-wing helicopters which are used when patients need transport over long distances and/or remote areas of the province.
Air ambulance services are coordinated through EHS-Alberta and integrated with licenced ground ambulance services.
Costs and coverage
You may receive a bill for emergency health services and/or ambulance transport. The amount depends on whether you are transported and your insurance coverage. The Government of Alberta provides funding for EHS. Only a small portion of the actual cost of the services provided is charged to the patient.
Questions related to ambulance billing should be directed to the ambulance operator who has issued the request for payment.
EHS Practitioners
EHS practitioners consist of Paramedics and Emergency Medical Responders who provide a wide range of health services including emergency response and assessment, low-acuity response and assessment, interfacility transport as well as other specialty services such as Mobile Integrated Health (MIH), also known as community care paramedics.
All EHS practitioners in Alberta are required to be registered with the Alberta College of Paramedics.
Under the Health Professions Act and Paramedics Profession Regulation, there are 3 designations of EHS practitioner who may perform the duties of an ambulance attendant under EHS legislation:
- Emergency Medical Responder (EMR)
- Primary Care Paramedic (PCP)
- Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP)
All EHS practitioners are guided by standardized provincial medical control protocols.
Emergency health services legislation and ambulance standards
The Government of Alberta sets standards to ensure ambulance operators provide safe, consistent and high-quality services. The EHS legislative framework includes:
Upholding public safety
The Ministry inspects ambulance operators, ambulance vehicles, and stations as well as medical supplies and equipment to ensure compliance to the requirements established in legislation.