Paramedics exhausted, Chief frustrated with ambulance capacity degradation

Ambulances in Winnipeg are often working at double their suggested maximum workload, seriously straining their paramedics.

Chief John Lane of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) has been saying for almost two years after releasing a report that paramedics are overworked.

"There is just no chance for them to catch their breath."

After more than a year of being overworked, paramedics and their communications staff are exhausted.

"I would like to see the paramedics report taken seriously," Lane says. "Our paramedic crews are basically going from call to call to call with no opportunity for downtime during the day," Lane says.

Paramedics already have a taxing job helping people in some of their worst moments, but now because of increasing patient and pandemic-related demand, there is little to no downtime between calls to process it.

"There is just no chance for them to catch their breath and clear their mind of the last call and now reset themselves and get ready for the next call. It is just one right after the other, after the other."

Rates are recommended 35-40 per cent as the most time in a paramedic shift to be working on a call. In 2019, the average was 60 per cent and has only climbed.

To help, they have split ambulance crews from one 24 hour rotation to two 12 hour shifts at busy times but that is not always enough. 

In the most extreme cases, someone waiting for something minor could be waiting up to six hours for a paramedic. Lane says this is rare, but a reality.

"It is a delicate balance of 'how do you provide appropriately prompt service for the moderate calls while still maintaining a few ambulances free for those life-threatened calls?" Lane says. "When the life-threatening calls do come in, if we get more than we have ambulances available, now we're really in a situation where even the life-threatening calls will have a longer response than we desire."

The workload of paramedics stationed at Main Street Project has slightly lessened in the pandemic allowing them to pitch in by sometimes helping people over the phone.

On Monday, he appealed to the City of Winnipeg during its Protection, Community Services and Parks Standing Committee that they need more resources.

Currently, the city has 27 ambulances. In 2019, Lane asked for seven more. Now, he needs 10. Lane also is asking for five more Emergency Paramedic In the Community (EPIC) units, which he says are very effective at managing a large number of clients. They currently have two. Lane says they have shared these concerns with the province's Minister of Health and Shared Health. The WFPS's ambulances are contracted by the province.

At the same time, Lane says their services are continuing to degrade because of budget tightening requests, demoralizing paramedics so much so that they stopped announcing when it happens.