The Ottawa Paramedic Service says it is facing several challenges, and it needs more staff to handle them.
In a report for the City’s Community and Protective Services Committee, the Service says issues such as an increase in calls for service and an aging population, combined with Ottawa’s large geographical area, are putting pressure on Paramedics to respond to calls quickly, especially in rural areas.
The Service is requesting the City create 24 new full-time equivalent positions in 2017, and another 14 in 2018. 12 of the paramedics added would cover 2016-based growth.
The Service is also recommending the city buy six new emergency response vehicles over the next two years.
The 24 full-time staff added in 2017 would be hired by June and trained and available for calls by August, if Council approves the request.
The estimated cost for these new paramedics and vehicles, outlined in the report, would be $3.25 million. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care covers 50% of this cost.
The Service plans to redeploy three staff members to the front lines, making for 41 full-time paramedics available for front line duties by 2018. Five would be considered support staff, consisting of two superintendents of operations, one superintendent for training and professional standards, and two equipment and supply technicians.
The Service says response volumes for paramedics have increased by 23.7%, or 70 more responses per day, between 2011 and 2015. Due to the increase in calls, the Service admits it was not able to meet Council-approved response time targets for heart attack calls in 2014 and 2015, and for life-threatening calls in 2015.
Council expects Paramedics to respond to heart attack calls within 6 minutes at least 65% of the time. For life-threatening calls, the target time is 8 minutes at least 75% of the time.
Council approved the hiring of 12 paramedics in March of 2016. Before that, the workforce hadn’t increased since 2011.
The Community and Protective Services Committee meets October 20.