New plan for P.E.I.'s paramedics should keep more Islanders out of the ER

The provincial government is providing paramedics on P.E.I. with new tools aimed at reducing the number of patients who have to visit hospital emergency departments. 

The Department of Health and Wellness and Island EMS have introduced three new Community Paramedic Response Units, or CPRUs. The vehicles will be staffed by advanced care community paramedics, supported by 24/7 access to consultations with emergency physicians.

New protocols will include a triage element, so that paramedics will respond to some 911 calls by treating patients on site, and others by helping people get prescription refills or access other types of health-care professionals.  

"Previously, paramedics were required to take all patients to the [emergency department], including those who may be better served elsewhere," the province said in a news release on Tuesday. 

"Over a third of patients who phone 911 are in fact not requiring an emergency room," said Island EMS general manager James Orchard.  

"They require … some level of access to the health-care system that typically, right now, is served in the emergency room and [we're] recognizing that's not what patients really want or need. This is allowing us to bring that care to those patients and serve their needs better."      

If you require transportation as part of your treatment, then that's appropriate and you will be transported. If you don't, we won't. ​​​— Scott Cameron

Island EMS has three of the CPRUs — two in Charlottetown and one in Summerside — that will each be staffed with a single advanced care paramedic.

They will respond to calls during daytime hours only for the time being, but Orchard said the hope is to expand the service if it proves successful.  

New protocols to reduce ER visits a 'long time coming,' this P.E.I. paramedic says

7 months ago

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Up to now, P.E.I. paramedics were required to bring all patients calling 911 to emergency departments, even if they didn't need time-sensitive care. With new policies in place for Island EMS, a Community Paramedic Response Unit might be able to help many of those callers instead.

It's 'an access issue'

The province hopes the units will free up paramedics in ambulances to respond to higher-risk patients, as well as decrease the number of people waiting in emergency departments. 

"Much of it is an access issue. People have a difficult time figuring out how to navigate the system at times, and EMS is an obvious pathway to access medical care 24/7," said Scott Cameron, P.E.I.'s director of emergency health services. 

"The assumption has always been that all of that access required transportation to an emergency department. If you require transportation as part of your treatment, then that's appropriate and you will be transported. If you don't, we won't." 

Orchard said the new policy doesn't add any additional strain on paramedics, and should reduce delays in offloading patients at the ER. 

Anyone who calls 911 and is treated on site by a paramedic will receive a call from Island EMS's clinical support desk within 24 hours to follow up and provide additional health-care access if needed, the province says.