Rural paramedics strike deal with Ottawa

Paramedics intownships and counties surrounding Ottawasay they've reached a tentative agreement with their big city counterparts that couldsee their ambulances rushing to calls in the capital far less frequently.

Representatives from three rural paramedic services reached the deal with Ottawa's new paramedic chief, Myles Cassidy, when they sat down together in late July.

We are very pleased this agreement spells out that we will only respond to the most critical calls.- Renfrew Paramedic Services Chief Mike Nolan

Under the propsed deal, paramedics from RenfrewCounty, Prescott-Russell and Cornwall will only respond to calls from Ottawa if patients are in cardiac arrest or unconscious, according toRenfrewparamedicChief Mike Nolan.

In serious cases involving a major collision or similaremergency, Ottawa paramedicswill have to call the other services directly to request backup. It will be up to those services to decide whether they can spare the resources to help out, Nolan said.

He estimates the new deal will dramatically reduce the number of timesRenfrewparamedics respond to calls from Ottawa: from 370 in 2016 to about 15 per year.

Deal follows complaints

Under the old system, paramedics from neighbouring districts would be deployed to Ottawaiftheir ambulances were closest to the scene,or ifthere were no other ambulances available in Ottawa. Sometimes they were called in to deal with relatively minor injuries.

"We are very pleased this agreement spells out that we will only respond to the most critical calls for one another," Nolan said.

The respective councils of the three rural areas will discuss the agreement this week.

It follows complaints from Ottawa'sneighbouringmunicipalitiesthat the capital relies too heavily on their paramedic services. Rural paramedics complained the practice was costlyand perhaps even dangerous, as it sometimes left their own residents without first responders nearby.

In one case, anEmbrunmother watched helplessly as her baby boy's lips turned blue while theywaited for an ambulancethat had been diverted to Ottawa.

Broken bones, bloody noses

Rural paramedics became more frustrated becausethey treated or transported many patients in Ottawa who weren't in serious condition. In some cases rural paramedics raced into the city to deal with broken bones and bloody noses, Nolan said.

"To be sent from the town ofRenfrewto theRideauCentre in the middle of the nightbecauseOttawa doesn't have the resources available, I don't think that seems right to anybody," he said.

According toMichelChrtien,Prescott-Russell'sdirector of emergency services, the paramedic services decided to come up with their own agreementbecause the province was too slow to respond to their concerns.

"We're probably the worst-case scenario in the province," he said. "It's just that there's volume in Ottawa, [so] they don't have capacity to respond. And because of the way the system is set up we have to respond. That's unfair to us."

Ottawa paramedic chief approves

Myles Cassidy oversaw emergency services in Cornwall before being hired as Ottawa's paramedic chief in June. The job gives him delegated authority to enter into theagreement without bringing it to city council, he said.

"As we move forward, residents of each municipality should receive the paramedic service from the municipality in which they live," he said.

The deal will help rural municipalities more than it will impact Ottawa, whichreceivesabout 137,000 calls peryear, Cassidy said.

If the various councils approve the agreement, it still needs the approval ofOntario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

The goal is to have the new system in place by Oct. 1.