Paramedics with the Region of Waterloo praise provincial funding for offload delays

Three hospitals in the region received funding from the Ministry of Health to help reduce ambulance offload delays, and paramedics with the Region of Waterloo are hoping it’s not just a one-time boost.

Offload delays are when paramedics take a patient to the emergency room and are forced to stay with them until there’s a bed. It can take anywhere from 15 minutes to hours – often leaving paramedics tied up until there’s a bed at the hospital. This can often lead to the paramedics service issuing a code red as all ambulances in their fleet are tied up. 

As part of the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital received $743,706 in funding at the end of 2022. The funding included $226,903, divided among the three local hospitals to expand coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

John Riches, the chief of paramedics with the Region of Waterloo, said the hospitals have received funding to help with offload delays for years, but the most recent funding included an extra boost. The boost, meant a dedicated nurse is on 24 hours a day instead of just 12 hours a day.

“It’s usually one position per emerge, and it allowed them to increase the staffing like overnights, and other times during the weekends and stuff when it wasn’t previously staff,” said Chief Riches.

Riches said typically one offload delay nurse can watch up to four patients.

“And that would release four ambulances out into the community,” Riches said.

The funding is only expected to last until the end of March 2023, but Riches hopes the funds get extended.

“There is a real return on the investment that the province has made here, and obviously, we want to see that continue, and we hope to see a continued funding increase for this program,” he said.

Riches said since the funding has been put to good use at local hospitals, he’s noticed a difference.

“We all want our paramedics out in the community ready to respond to a 9-1-1 call when someone has a medical crisis. If they’re in a hospital with a patient on a stretcher – they can’t do that. So we see it as very beneficial,” said Riches.