Hastings Quinte Paramedic Services (HQPS) Chief of Emergency Services Carl Bowker says they value the hard work and dedication of their paramedics.
Bowker and HQPS have issued a response to a video released over the weekend by CUPE Local 1842 where the union said local ambulance shortages have reached a dangerous tipping point.
The CUPE video and press release noted that staff and ambulance shortages are commonplace.
Bowker says that while downstaffing is never ideal, at no time was public safety in jeopardy.
He adds that increases in call volumes have been met with staffing enhancements including the recruitment of more than 40 paramedics last year with another 20 this year and that the pandemic contributed to a province-wide shortage of paramedics from which they are only just starting to recover.
Bowker says staffing levels are still not yet where they’d like them to be but they continue to operate as efficiently as possible as the human health resource market stabilizes.
Read the full response below:
HQPS Response to CUPE 1842 Press Release and Video
We continue to value the hard work and dedication that our Paramedics provide to our communities on a daily basis and look forward to resolving these outstanding issues when we meet again on May 26, 2025.
Increases in call volumes have been met with staffing enhancements in 5 of the last 6 years resulting in the equivalent of 4 new ambulances operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across Hastings-Prince Edward. Last year call volume increased by 2% and in 2023 it was 3%, well below anticipated increases.
Prior to the pandemic, Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services had 84 full-time positions which has grown to 120 full-time positions this year to meet our frontline and staffing needs. In addition, Hastings County Council approved the creation of 28 full-time float position, above our baseline staffing levels, in an effort to address scheduling challenges. Double digit call volume increases over the pandemic and the growth of community paramedic programs resulted in a province wide shortage of paramedics and we are only just starting to recover. Despite these challenges, HQPS recruited over 40 paramedics last year and we are in the process of onboarding another 20 medics this year.
Over the past weekend, multiple trucks were downstaffed, which is never ideal but at no time was public safety in jeopardy. Call volumes were managed effectively using the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS). Concerns have been raised about “level-zero” where no ambulances were able to respond but this did not occur over the past weekend.
Provincial standards for ambulance offload times are 30 minutes. Last year, Belleville General Hospital decreased offload times by over 500 hours with the average arrival to departure of an ambulance taking 35 minutes. In Quinte West, offload times are less than 30 minutes and less than 20 minutes in Bancroft and Picton. While there are days that multiple ambulances arrive at the hospital simultaneously creating longer delays, we continue to work with Quinte Health to minimize the impact.
I certainly appreciate that staffing levels are not yet where we would like them to be but we continue to operate as efficiently as possible as the human health resource market stabilizes.