The residents of Niagara deserve to have their medical needs met by professional paramedics, dispatchers, and Occupational Therapists, but meeting those needs is becoming increasingly difficult due to the staffing crisis in Emergency Medical Services.
The fact of the matter is that there is a recruitment and retention crisis in the region and it’s having a direct and devastating impact on the health and safety of residents.
We’re seeing more Code 0s, where there are no available ambulances in the Region at a given time. Niagara paramedics spend increasingly more time at the hospital on offload delay, leaving few ambulances available for the community. And ambulances are often understaffed.
Niagara paramedics and dispatchers are in bargaining now for better working conditions so that they can sustainably support the health and safety of residents.