By EMS1 Staff
OTTAWA, Ontario — Following a damning report on Canadian response times, paramedics have stated they strongly disagree with its findings.
A report on the Ottawa Paramedic Services claimed responders spend more time responding to calls in part due to an “overall, ongoing and systemic [dispatching] problem.”
Ottawa Paramedic Chief Peter Kelly sent a letter to Mayor Jim Watson and city officials Monday night, stating that he “strongly disagrees with several of the conclusions and findings of the report” and are “fact-checking” it.
Ministry of Health official Anthony Di Monte said the report was spurred after a complaint from a neighboring city regarding an overnight shift in August. The report was sent to Ottawa paramedics Nov. 29, who were given 10 days to review it and had 40 days to create an action plan. Di Monte said the report was “inadvertently shared” and posted online by neighboring municipalities six days before Ottawa paramedics had to finish reviewing the report, reported CBC.
The report claims that during the overnight shift, Ottawa paramedic dispatchers failed to meet their own standards in five instances where the nearest ambulance was not assigned for life-threatening emergencies.
During one instance, a dispatcher assigned paramedics to a call that was 17 minutes away; the patient did not survive.
The report also indicated that the practice of not assigning paramedics new calls during the last 30 minutes of their shift “does not allow for a seamless ambulance service.”
Di Monte defended the practice, stating, “We have a finite fleet. That ambulance has to return in the half-hour of the shift, because it has to be processed and ready for the next two crew.”
Another concern the report outlined was the services’ “return to readiness” policy, which requires dispatchers to wait half an hour after a patient is transferred before assigning paramedics to another call. The report also stated that Ottawa paramedics were assigned to non life-threatening calls when resources were low.
Chief Kelly met with provincial officials this week to discuss the report’s finding and to take necessary steps toward improving the service.