Waterloo Region’s paramedics are being dispatched to more and more calls – and they say the resources they’re being given to deal with those emergencies aren’t keeping pace.
In 2016, paramedics dealt with 42,187 separate incidents. That total is both higher than anyone predicted, and an all-time record for the region.
It averages out to about 115 incidents per day, or about one every 12.5 minutes.
Those calls don’t necessarily come at a steady pace. Some days of the week might be a little bit quieter. Some times of day can be busier than others.
It’s those busy periods – like the two-hour period over the holidays when 26 different calls came in, including 12 in nine minutes alone – that have paramedics most concerned that they’re not able to keep up with the region’s growing and aging population.
“I think the Region of Waterloo needs to bite the bullet and get the additional staffing in because continuing along like this, they’re going to burn out the incredible staff that they have,” Chris Sutton, who represents the region’s paramedics with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said in an interview.
In the EMS world, Code Yellow is the term for when three or fewer ambulances are available to respond to a call immediately. If no ambulance in the region or surrounding communities is available, it becomes a Code Red.
In 2016, Waterloo Region was in Code Red situations 0.95 per cent of the time – down from 1.1 per cent in 2015, but still well above the historical average of 0.66 per cent.
“Even one Code Red is too much,” Sutton said.
“One Code Red means that you’re probably about three vehicles short.”
Another issue with Code Red situations, Sutton says, is that if even getting one ambulance to respond immediately is impossible, than freeing up multiple ambulances to deal with a large-scale emergency would be just as difficult.
Overtime is another concern. Sutton says call volumes sometimes leave the region’s paramedics working through scheduled breaks and lunches – which he says isn’t just an annoyance, but something that can have serious consequences.
“There comes a point in time where working overtime every single day that you’re on shift becomes tedious, becomes demoralizing, and starts to affect your health,” he said.
“Once you start affecting the health of the paramedics, then you start affecting the safety of the people that they’re supposed to be there servicing.”
The region’s EMS chief, Stephen Van Valkenburg, agrees that call volume is leading to missed lunches and other over-time related costs, and says that can be a concern.
“We want them to be nourished and have a few minutes of break between calls,” he said.
Some measures have been taken. In 2016, two ambulances were added to the fleet and some scheduling patterns were changed.
At first, it seemed to be working. Response times were improving. Code Reds were occurring less often.
Then December arrived, and call volumes suddenly started increasing at a rapid rate.
According to Van Valkenburg, that trend continued through January, but slowed somewhat in February.
It’s not clear yet if that increase is a blip on the radar or a sign of something more permanent.
Either way, three more ambulances will arrive in the region by July – one less than a consultant had recommended, and without any new staff positions to accompany them.
Despite the busy December, the average response time to a medical emergency in Waterloo Region did decrease in 2016, sitting at nine minutes and 37 seconds.
With reporting by Leena Latafat and Allison Tanner
