The Customer
A large municipal law enforcement agency in Western Canada, with a mission to increase public safety through excellence in the prevention, intervention and suppression of crime and disorder. Its vision is to make its community the safest major city in Canada and to be recognized as a leader in policing.
The Challenge
Providing care in custody to those in detainment is increasingly complex. While the goal is to afford detainees the same level of care as any other citizen, the short-term detainee population has health needs that far exceed those of the average Canadian.
For instance, those in custody show higher rates of chronic illness such as addiction, hepatitis C, chronic pain and mental illness. Health issues for people in detainment can generate significant costs for police and the health system. Transporting detainees to hospital requires police vehicles, EMS calls and ambulance deployments, valuable ER space, as well as a material time commitment from police for supervision.
The Solution
The Calian team of advanced-care paramedics offered continuous, 24-7 on-site health services, leveraging technology and their full scope of practice. The model is cost-effective while providing consistent, meaningful care and sharply reducing the need for expensive hospital transport and off-site supervision. Additionally, paramedics understand the community and how best to navigate the health system, allowing them to efficiently coordinate care with social and health services organizations to improve access and health outcomes for individuals in custody.
At the same time, detainee safety has improved, and the quality of care enhanced for this high-risk population. For the police, their own safety has improved while valuable police and hospital resources are freed up, improving health access for other members of the community. Ultimately, this allows the law enforcement agency to advance its mission to increase public safety through excellence in the prevention, intervention and suppression of crime and disorder.
Calian was the best choice for us and for consistency across the province!
Law Enforcement Customer
The Results
Calian estimates cost savings of approximately $40,000 per month for the law enforcement agency, based on overall municipal cost reductions
of approximately $1,000 for each transport that is avoided.
- This is based on estimates that the provision of on-site health care resulted in an 80 per cent decline in detainee transport to hospital via police officers directly or EMS.
- This also equates to a reduction of 500 EMS calls and ER visits annually, greatly reducing the stress on local health care systems.
- Finally, since commencing the service in 2017, Calian has mitigated five serious and life-threatening medical events which would have led to death or serious medical impairment of detainees.
