Yesterday the City of Winnipeg formally announced its commitment to hire 12 new paramedics, allowing an additional ambulance to be staffed 24/7, and hire 10 additional fire paramedic dispatch operators this year.
The goal, the city says is to “ease some of the burden on Winnipeg's ambulances” and help deal with the ongoing problem of paramedics kept idle at city emergency rooms, waiting to off-load patients.
The city says it will also invest in new tools paramedics will have in the field, such as technology that uses iPhones to transmit defibrillator data to doctors.
“Today’s announcement is obviously good news for City paramedics, who are struggling with high call volumes and offload delays at Winnipeg hospitals,” said Chris Broughton, president of Paramedics of Winnipeg, MGEU Local 911. “This won’t solve those ongoing problems, but it’s important to acknowledge that this investment will help in delivering quality pre-hospital care to Winnipeggers.”
The total cost of the new positions — just over $1.2 million — has been earmarked in the city's latest operating budget and will be cost-shared with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.