Paramedics fast-track new ambulance to address rising 911 calls

A new ambulance is being deployed months ahead of schedule in an effort to address an increasing number of 911 calls in Waterloo region.

"When I came here almost five years ago, we were doing about 75 to 90 calls in a 24-hour period," Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services Chief Stephen Van Valkenburg told The Morning Edition host Craig Norris Tuesday.

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"Now we're doing anywhere between 100 and 130 calls. So, it's increased substantially."

'Unsustainable number'

That increase has driven up the paramedic service's unit utilization rate — a statistic the service uses to see how busy its ambulances are. 

Van Valkenburg said the industry standard is to have a rate of 35 per cent or lower, but Waterloo paramedics consistently have a rate of more than 40 per cent. 

That just means the call value is growing faster than the additions that we're putting on.- Stephen Van Valkenburg

"Anything over 40 per cent, it becomes an unsustainable number," Van Valkenburg told CBC News. "The crews are busy — they're just running from call to call."

Although resources have been added every year, including new ambulances, the unit utilization rate continues to be high, he said. 

"That just means the call value is growing faster than the additions that we're putting on," he said. "We're just sort of maintaining. We're not making any strides toward that 35 per cent."

Resources not the answer

But Van Valkenburg hopes by putting a new ambulance on the road in February, rather than waiting until the planned deployment in July, he might see that percentage drop. 

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That said, he knows resources alone won't solve all the problems his paramedics are facing on the road. 

For example, extra ambulances won't prevent paramedics from facing delays when they reach the hospital where they have to wait for nursing staff to take charge of the patient.

"It's a very systemic issue," he said. "We all agree that just adding resources is not the answer to the question. We all understand that. 

"The question is, how do we do this so that we can get our ambulances back on the road and the hospitals can have their flow through to have a more efficient system?"