The owner of Fewer’s Ambulance Service says he will not abandon the people of Trepassey, and he’s committed to keeping service in the community until Eastern Health takes over operations.

According to his contract, Fewer has to provide 180 days notification if he intends to withdraw services from a particular region. Bob Fewer says he has assured government and the health authority that the service will remain until a replacement service is in operation.

He says they have had three ambulances in the community in the past, and now there’s barely enough work to keep one ambulance going. His concern is that paramedics might lose their skills. “It’s probably better for the health authority to look after that and then they can rotate people in and out.”

NDP Response

The NDP says the decision by Fewer’s to discontinue service to Trepassey underscores what the party calls “the pitfalls of for-profit healthcare.”

Leader Jim Dinn says the decision speaks to the concerns raised about privatized healthcare services.

He says the province cannot look to private healthcare providers as the solution to the healthcare crisis. He claims it will make the situation worse, and the people of Trepassey, and the province, deserve better.