The head of Ottawa Paramedics is defending the way service is provided to Ottawa-area patients after a new report by Ontario’s Ministry of Health highlighted some big problems.

In some cases the closest ambulance is not always offered to patients in life-threatening condition, according to the report.  In just one night the report found at least five cases where the nearest ambulance was not sent.

In one case, fire fighters were working to resuscitate a patient in the Pineview area while waiting for an ambulance. There was an ambulance located at CHEO about five or six minutes away, but staff was nearing the end of their shift.  Instead, dispatch phoned an ambulance 17 minutes away.

The patient in this case ended up passing away.

Head of Ottawa Emgency Services said that ambulance at CHEO was technically not in service due to the end-shift policy that allows paramedics 30 minutes after every hospital handoff. This time is so they can prepare for their next call.

“In theory if we continue to do that, they would always be closer, they would never finish. So there has to be bounds,” Di Monte said.

But in the 29 cases looked at during one shift, the report found that it took on average above 25 minutes for paramedic units to clean and become available once again – even if their patient was not badly injured.

Di Monte said he plans to fact check many of these findings – adding that he ‘strongly disagrees’ with some information in the report.  

The investigation was brought on after paramedics in Prescott-Russell complained about the amount of Ottawa-area calls they were asked to respond to. The Executive Director of Emergency Services, Michel Chretien, said some days they were responding to more calls in Ottawa than their own community.

“This is opening up our community to criticism, liabilities and inabilities to provide appropriate care and rapid care in our community because we are never there,” Chretien said.

The report shows in five of the 13 calls to Prescott-Russell ambulances that dispatch did not send the closest ambulance.

Di Monte admits Ottawa does rely on other municipalities at times, but said that will get better with the planned hiring of 38 new paramedics in the next two years.  

“As Prescott-Russell is seeing this imbalance, it will come back into equilibrium as these resources are added.”