PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria Firefighters Union is at odds with the city’s ambulance provider over a policy they say might have put people having a medical emergency at risk.
Earlier this month, Advanced Medical Transport put into place a procedure by which “Code Two” calls, or ones considered non-time critical, weren’t responded to as quickly as other calls, and which made Peoria Fire the primary responder to such calls.
“To not have that statement to the public, that’s troubling to say the least,” said Ryan Brady, President of Peoria Firefighters Local 50, to news partner 25 News.
Brady says his first responders told potential patients they may have had to wait more than an hour for an ambulance during the period.
AMT says the measure was temporary, 29 calls were affected, and all shifts were covered, but they were having the same problems with staffing as most everywhere else because of COVID-19.
“We did have fewer personnel available to work, but we did fill our shifts,” said Deborah Roethler, AMT Vice President of Administration, to 25 News. “We can’t have 150 percent of our regular call volume come in and not have any shift in what happens in service.”
Brady says what’s more, not having a service assured by the city as readily available is a concern.
“When there’s an extended delay, the most disheartening thing, at least in my opinion especially as a city resident as a taxpayer, nobody came out and said hey this is what you should expect,” said Brady.
Mayor Rita Ali did not respond to a request for comment from 25 News.
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