Manitoba government announce upgrades at Medical Transportation Co-ordination Centre

Winnipeg (11 June 2013) – The Manitoba Government released details on June 7 on additional staff and new renovations for the Medical Transportation Co-ordination Centre (MTCC) in Brandon.

Province invests in ambulance services

The province has invested over $1.2 million at MTCC, including the hiring of 10 new staff to dispatch ambulances to emergency medical calls and arrange inter-facility transfers throughout the province. A newly-renovated dispatch centre includes the addition of two new work stations to expand dispatch capabilities to serve those in Brandon, rural and northern Manitoba.

"Medical dispatch and co-ordination are highly specialized aspects necessary to the delivery of timely and appropriate pre-hospital care Manitoba families rely on in times of crisis," said  Michelle Gawronsky, President of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union (MGEU/NUPGE). "Today's investment in staff and resources at MTCC will no doubt result in better EMS response capabilities and correspondingly will contribute to improved health outcomes for patients."

Increased staff and resources will help MGEU members handle ever-increasing volume of calls

The MTCC in Brandon is the primary health transport dispatch and co-ordination centre for rural and northern Manitoba. Since it began operations in 2006, it has handled a steadily increasing call volume, processing 109,000 calls in 2012, with projections it could take as many as 114,000 calls per year by 2014. The MGEU/NUPGE represents 40 workers at MTCC.

NUPGE