When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the spring, ambulance calls dropped as people avoided hospital visits, afraid of catching the virus, but this fall there’s been a sharp spike in these calls.
A virtual meeting of the Hastings-Quinte Emergency Services Committee on Tuesday received a report from Chief of Paramedics Doug Socha.
People hunkered down staying away from hospitals if they possibly could.
Socha tells Quinte News that’s not the case now.
“We’ve got lots of personal protective equipment and paramedics are ready to respond, as well as the hospital. The public shouldn’t be afraid from that side.”
He says there has been a sharp increase in calls and paramedics are getting fatigued.
“We’ve got our training going on right now. Certainly I’ve been messaging to be mindful of that. We’re starting to see our call volume, since that April downward turn. It’s certainly increased.”
Socha adds, “Everybody is mentally exhausted from the pandemic, paramedics are no different, and it’s important to look out for each other.”
