The union representing Emergency Health Services (EHS) paramedics in the province is sounding the alarm on strains on the system.
Terry Chapman, CEO of the International Union of Operating Engineers local 727, says paramedics are going further and further from their bases and it’s causing pressure on the system and fatigue for workers.
Chapman says ER closures are in part to blame.
“When those are closed, that means ambulances from that area now have to go further to take a patient that they pick up,” he says.
Chapman says that means when a paramedic’s shift ends, they could be hours from their home base.
Because of that, paramedics who are eligible to work extra hours, often won’t do it because they’re tired from the previous shift.
“It’s very, very common that paramedics in this province, when their shift ends they’re still several hours from their base because they’re doing all the work of the other services, ambulances, they’ve been tied up at hospitals and can’t be released.”
There has to be two paramedics for every ambulance, so if several people can’t make it in to work, paramedics are paired up with who is available, often leaving ambulances empty.
During a 20-day span in July, 34 ambulances in the province were unstaffed.
The union has been highlighting their issues for several months, using the hashtag #codecritical on social media.
Meanwhile, government says they are undertaking a system-design review of EHS, which has been put out to tender.
Randy Delorey, Minister of Health and Wellness, says a review was recommended in an auditor general’s report.
Delorey says they want to re-affirm what the 25-year-old service is doing right and what could be improved.
“And if there’s other things that have evolved or if there’s new practices that are being developed in other areas that we want to look to see we can adopt and further improve our system.”
Delorey acknowledges that emergency rooms and EHS are connected and says he has been speaking to the union.
He says the province is working to recruit physicians and expand collaborative care practices to alleviate pressures on the ER.
When asked if there are any targeted initiatives for hospitals like Shelburne’s Roseway, which has had its ER close for over 140 hours this month, Delorey pointed to province wide initiatives.
“Our initiatives and incentives that are available, we know that we have needs and vacant positions from one end of the province to another,” says Delorey.
The director of provincial operations for Emergency Health Services, is welcoming the review and believes it will give EHS a chance to re-affirm what they are doing correctly and what could use improvement.
However, Jeff Fraser says he has been in talks with the union and he doesn’t disagree with their assessment of the situation.
Fraser says call volumes have increased and that doesn’t always mean more paramedics are the answer.
“There are things like ambulance offloading and there are closures with hospitals that do have an effect on our ability to operate our system but it’s part of a bigger problem.”
On a busy day, EHS can see up to 800 calls provincewide – the average is around 500.
Fraser says this isn’t a new issue but he doesn’t dispute what the union is saying.
“It’s something we’re accustomed to dealing with and ours system is built for it but I will acknowledge and certainly support our staff, they are certainly working hard than they have before and we appreciate what they do.”
He says for their part they’ve added more programs including fall prevention and in home assessments that are available in some communities in the province and are hoping to expand those.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
