Ambulance services in Inuvik will continue after an 11th-hour contract signing Feb. 14 will keep the current contractor on the job for six more months.
Advanced Medical Solutions owner Sean Ivens confirmed to the Inuvik Drum a contract extension was signed late in the day.
“We got notification this afternoon that we’ll be doing a six-month extension,” he said. “We came to a mutual understanding that six months would be the most appropriate time-frame.
“If we are a successful proponent on the next round, then we’ll adjust our extension accordingly.”
Ivens said AMS will now operate ambulances in Inuvik until Aug. 14.
After that, what happens depends on who the GNWT decides to go with on April 1 when the new tender was to go into effect.
Ivens noted he was not the only ambulance service to put in a bid for the contract.
Ambulance Services in the Beaufort Delta had previously been set to expire Feb. 14, with no one signed on to provide services until April 1.
Health Ministry spokesperson Jack Miltenberger said the GNWT had a contingency in place to prevent a disruption of service.
“A ‘Request for Proposal’ for the ambulance services closed on January 31 2022 and it is currently in the review stage,” said Miltenberger. “The current contract contains a provision for extension which would be exercised to avoid a gap in service.
“NTHSSA has worked to extended the contract for ambulance services in Inuvik for a term of six months while we complete the evaluation of bids for the public procurement process that is ongoing. There will be no gap in service.”