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Paramedics in Regina are dealing with more calls than ever, and the provincial government is working to ensure enough people are available to respond quickly to health emergencies.
Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health announced Wednesday that 24.5 full-time equivalent paramedic positions will be phased in over the next three months. The positions will staff two additional ambulances in the Queen City, the ministry said, along with two smaller paramedic response units and two EMS co-ordinators.
Health Minister Paul Merriman said response times need to get lower.
“We’ve heard from residents and paramedics that we need to do more to improve ambulance response times,” Merriman said in a statement. “This increase in Regina EMS resource capacity will help patients and better balance the workload for our paramedics.”
According to the ministry, EMS call volumes have been going up. Regina paramedics received almost 27,000 calls in 2020-21, the ministry said. In 2021-22, the number of calls rose by more than 14 per cent to nearly 31,000 calls.
The smaller paramedic response units consist of one advanced care paramedic, who the release said can “help primary care paramedics on more complex calls or can arrive at an emergency before the ambulance and begin providing care immediately until the ambulance arrives.”
The two new EMS co-ordinators will support paramedics around Saskatchewan, the ministry said, through training, education, and quality assurance work.
Rod MacKenzie with the Saskatchewan Health Authority said the new positions are meant to improve response times and make life easier for paramedics facing a heavy workload.
“Investing in additional ambulance capacity is not just about adding resources, it’s about improving the quality of life for our paramedics and ensuring the timely delivery of critical care to those in need in our province,” MacKenzie said in a statement.
The new positions will be funded through the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s existing EMS budget at an annual cost of $2.4 million, the ministry said.
The provincial government and health authority are working to improve recruitment and retention for paramedics, the ministry added.
On Tuesday, the province announced the expansion of training seats for a number of high-demand health-care roles, including increasing the number of available seats for prospective paramedics at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and regional colleges by 100.