Rural Sask. communities call for support after EMS expansion announced in Regina, Saskatoon
Regina will soon have two additional ambulances on the road with a full complement of staff. Now other communities in Saskatchewan are calling for more support.
“We know that communities across this province have talked and complained with the provincial government many, many times about the lack of service that we’re seeing in some of the areas outside of Regina,” Randy Goulden, President of SUMA, told CTV News.
In addition to the expansion of services in Regina, Saskatoon will also be receiving funds to staff three more ambulances. While 70 paramedic and first responder positions will be added to 27 communities across Saskatchewan, according to the province.
Minister of Health Paul Merriman said the new positions will also be complimented by a ‘treat and release’ program, aimed at reducing congestion in emergency rooms.
“EMTs would be able to call in and consult with a doctor and do a virtual triage to be able to say ‘this is what we’re seeing’ and they can make that decision.” Merriman explained.
“That would be the attending [physician’s] decision to be able to A, bring them into the emergency room and B, be able to perform what they can on site, get in to see their family doctor the next day,” he added.
In smaller centres, such as Cupar, paramedics have expressed concern about long wait times at emergency rooms when dropping off patients.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts sent to your device
In some instances, emergency personnel have waited up to eight hours.
“We’re waiting for a room to open up while doctors see other people. They can’t take us first because we are an ambulance. They go by triage,” Dustin Cappelle of Cupar EMS told CTV News.
The provincial government has said that it plans to deal with ER congestion by setting aside certain areas to receive ambulance patients.
This system is meant to allow EMS crews to get back on the road quickly to the next emergency.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.