Strains on the health-care system caused by the Omicron variant are increasingly seeing paramedics off sick or tied up with patients on stretchers in hospital emergency rooms.
Dr. Erin O鈥機onnor is the deputy medical director of emergency medicine at the University Health Network in Toronto.
鈥淲e don't have a bed to put them in, we can't move them off the stretcher, and we can鈥檛 move them into the waiting room safely,鈥� Dr. O鈥機onnor told 麻豆传媒. 鈥淭hen unfortunately, they're stuck staying on the EMS stretchers with our paramedic colleagues for an extended period of time.鈥�
In Toronto on Saturday, so many ambulances were out of commission or waiting to offload patients that Toronto Paramedic Services had to meaning no ambulances were available. At least didn鈥檛 receive an immediate response that night.
鈥淚 mean, that was a life-threatening call,鈥� Mike Merriman, the paramedic unit chair for CUPE Local 416, told 麻豆传媒. 鈥淎nd at that period of time there was no available unit to send within the city.鈥�
鈥淭he mind of our members goes to, 鈥楾hat could be me one day,鈥欌�� Ryan Willis, the unit鈥檚 recording secretary, added. 鈥淲e don't want to see that in this system. And I don't think I don't think the public does either.鈥�
Speedy EMS support is critical for conditions like heart attacks strokes and trauma where timely medical care can mean the difference between life or disability and death. It鈥檚 a critical situation, say emergency doctors.
鈥淚t would be a shame, it would be criminal, if a Canadian dies for want of an ambulance,鈥� said Dr. Alan Drummond with the Canadian Association of Emergency physicians 鈥淚t鈥檚 just totally unacceptable.鈥�
COVID-19 has exposed long-standing problems with staffing both among emergency responders and the hospital system.
鈥淚t all comes down to a 20 year history of government's failure to address the reasons we have a rich department crowding, which is hospital crowding, and lack of bed capacity,鈥� said Dr. Drummond.
Despite the circumstances, Toronto Emergency Medical Services chief Paul Raftis says everyone is doing their best.
鈥淲ith things like Omicron, then there may be delays to the lower priority calls within our system,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭his is not unique to Toronto. This happens in every urban EMS system, not just in Ontario, but right around the world right now.鈥�
In B.C., COVID-19 has also slashed the number of available paramedics.
鈥淲e've seen up to 50 per cent at some times where we're out of service just because we just don't have the staff,鈥� Ambulance Paramedics & Dispatchers of B.C. union president Troy Clifford told 麻豆传媒 from Vancouver.
Maxed out, paramedics are already reporting that increased workload is harming their mental and physical health.
In October, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) conducted a survey of Ontario paramedics and emergency dispatchers. From 1,400 responses, 97 per cent said their workload has increased over the past year, 85 per cent said their workload is harming their mental or physical health, and 43 per cent reported that they face Code Black 鈥� one or no ambulance available 鈥� on a daily basis or very frequently. Such numbers are striking, and could possibly grow in the wake of the Omicron variant.
Cities are now turning to firefighters to help with emergency calls as they try to hire more paramedics. Dr. Alan Drummond of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians says more long-term investment is needed.
鈥淲e have just a complete almost disintegration of the integrity of your system. And so when we get out of this mess that we're in with COVID, we're going to have to seriously reflect on how we let it get this bad for so long, and have to start dealing with the issue of hospital capacity.鈥�
