The following email message from MGEU President, Lois Wales was sent to all MGEU paramedics this afternoon in regards to the accident involving two MGEU members yesterday in western Manitoba.

I am writing with an update on the ambulance accident which occurred just south of Neepawa on Tuesday morning. As many of you know, a unit slid into the ditch after a medic fell asleep after several days of regular and on-call time. I want to let everyone in the MGEU paramedics community know that the medics involved in the accident are alright (we’ve received a number of inquiries about their well-being from other medics). The appropriate supports have been offered and we’ll continue working with the medics to ensure the trauma of the event is mitigated as much as possible.

This incident has, once again, underlined the issue of paramedics’ fatigue and the dangers involved in working excessive hours on the road and on emergent calls when medical judgment is critical. Rural paramedics have been very clear with us, that this issue needs to be addressed before something goes terribly wrong with a patient, the motoring public, or the safety of paramedics at work.

We’ve taken clear action: a meeting is being established within the week or so to sit down with the department to establish clear guidelines for what paramedics are supposed to do in situations of extreme fatigue due to excessive hours. One of the problems we’ve had in different regional health authorities is having clear and unambiguous protocols in place for you when you’re working and you’re experiencing fatigue. Clear standards and protocols need to be communicated to all medics, and they need to be enforced and adhered to by management of the regional health authorities, and your EMS supervisors.

The EMS branch has referenced in the media the use of hotel rooms when medics are experiencing fatigue, but the ability to access a room, and your paid status when using a hotel room need to be clarified and understood by all involved and also clearly communicated. This is also being placed on the agenda during the upcoming meeting with EMS branch.

Our position to the EMS branch of Manitoba Health is simple: we need, for reasons of health and safety, to limit the hours paramedics are asked to work at 16 hours, as is the case in at least one RHA right now. We need to find a way to limit the call-back and stand-by shifts medics are being asked to work, and we need to establish additional full-time shifts in rural Manitoba, which will understandably require additional staff and resources and better education and training alternatives than what exists now.

If you or your co-workers have additional ideas and suggestions for how to deal effectively with the paramedics’ fatigue issue in addition to the solutions we’ve mentioned, please contact us.

It is unfortunate that the issue of paramedics’ fatigue gains prominence in part because of a near miss like the one experienced by the medics near Neepawa. Certainly MGEU has raised the issue many times in the media and with the government and you have our promise that we will continue to lobby on your behalf for sustainable and safe solutions to the problem. We’re going to continue to work with you to get there.

Sincerely, 

Lois Wales,
MGEU President