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Ottawa asks for funding for 42 new paramedics to address hospital offload delays

Ottawa Paramedic Service vehicles parked at a hospital in Ottawa. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa) Ottawa Paramedic Service vehicles parked at a hospital in Ottawa. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa)
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The city of Ottawa is asking the Ontario government to fund 42 new paramedics to help address offload delays in hospital emergency departments, warning the delays and "Level Zero" incidents of available paramedics are a "public safety risk."

The Ottawa Paramedic Service has experienced 1,125 "Level Zero" incidents to date so far this year, when there are no ambulances available to respond to emergency calls.

In a letter to Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones, Mayor Jim Watson says hospital offload delays are a "significant contributor to incidences of 'Level Zero'", and are impacting the Ottawa Paramedic Service's ability to respond to calls and "jeopardized public safety."

"With your leadership, and by prioritizing efficient taxpayer spending, the province can resolve this long-standing issue once and for all by recognizing offload delays as a public safety risk," Watson said.

"The province and municipalities pay for paramedics to be assisting residents needing urgent medical attention. They do not pay, nor do they want, paramedics to perform hallway medicine in hospital emergency rooms."

Watson says the Ontario government needs to "send a strong message to hospitals" that offload delays in emergency departments are "not acceptable and encourage them to be open to innovative solutions" by working with all healthcare partners.

"With your direction, incentives can be implemented for hospitals to meet the 30-minute offload target and create standardized measurement and reporting between hospitals and paramedics, so we have more consistent and accurate data collection to inform decisions," Watson said.

The mayor says he met last week with staff and the leadership of the Ottawa Hospital, CHEO, Queensway Carleton Hospital and Montfort Hospital to discuss "urgent action needed" to address offload delays and the "Level Zero" incidents so far this year.

"Our local hospitals recognize that they must develop a culture that prioritizes getting paramedics back on the road as quickly as possible," Watson writes. "They are working to triage patients brought in by paramedics and to take a whole-hospital approach, including escalation plans that mobilize all levels of the hospital when there are emergency department surges and risks of offload delays."

The Ottawa Paramedic Service has been staffing a paramedic in the emergency department at the Queensway Carleton Hospital to care for patients, allowing an ambulance to return to service.

Watson says the city of Ottawa and hospitals are requesting funding for 42 additional paramedics to, "address current shortages and ensure public safety moving forward."

"If funded, we have agreed with local hospitals that these new paramedics could be strategically allocated to the four area hospitals and care for lower acuity patients waiting in the emergency department," Watson said. "This would allow for more paramedics to return an ambulance back into service faster."

The request for new paramedics to address offload delays and an increase in calls comes as Ottawa hospitals have warned of longer-than-normal waits to see doctors in the emergency department this summer. The Montfort Hospital closed its emergency department for 12 hours on Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 due to a staffing shortage.

In July, the Ottawa Paramedic Service said the offload delay for paramedics to transfer a patient into the care of Ottawa hospital emergency room staff was more than 30 hours for approximately 30 patients.

The Ottawa Paramedic Service has hired 28 new staff members this year to increase capacity to meet the demand for service.

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