Fire departments fear changes to training will deter volunteer medical responders
They’re often times the first on the scene of a medical emergency in parts of rural Manitoba.
Emergency medical responders help treat patients in areas where ambulances have to drive longer distances to get to a call.
But proposed changes to the training required to volunteer have some municipalities concerned about the future of the service.
“By enhancing the skill level of medical first responder (MFR) departments you’re essentially killing them so nothing’s been gained but a great deal has been lost,” said Glenn Reimer, the manager of Headingley’s MFR department and a longtime emergency medical responder himself. “The interventions that we would provide, awaiting the ambulance, are in many cases lifesaving.”
Headingley has 15 emergency medical responders and is one of 13 municipalities across Manitoba with a medical first responder department. While there is a small amount of pay, it’s a job people volunteer for in service of their community, Reimer said.
But now Reimer worries the service may be in jeopardy due to proposed changes to the number of training hours required to become a volunteer.
The changes are being proposed by the College of Paramedics of Manitoba which now regulates the profession across the province.
It wants to increase the number of training hours required from the current 120 hours to 360 hours which many rural fire departments fear would make it more difficult to find new recruits.
“So they’re looking at tripling the hours, basically, and that would mean recruitment would be next to impossible to recruit volunteers for that type of position,” said Nick Young, the fire chief in Miniota, Man.
Municipal officials passed a resolution at this week’s Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention calling on the province and the college to reconsider the changes. The college said, while it understands the concerns of municipalities, the current curriculum hasn’t been updated in six years and since then the scope of practice has grown significantly for emergency medical responders.
“We believe that our protection of the public interest and providing high quality emergency response care to the citizens of Manitoba that this will improve the care that is currently being delivered,” said Trish Bergal, executive director and registrar of The College of Paramedics of Manitoba.
The delivery of certain medications is one example of an area where more education is required, Bergal said.
She said the college wants to make sure volunteers feel confident in their training when responding to emergencies.
In addition to more hours, the cost of the training is also expected to increase, however, some municipalities say they cover the cost for volunteers.
Reimer said emergency medical responders (EMRs) can already voluntarily upgrade their training. He said forcing them to do so may be seen as a barrier to potential volunteers.
“It’s just asking too much because these people all work full-time, are raising families and they have to fit this training in outside of their regular lifetime responsibilities,” Reimer said.
The college said, under the proposed changes, existing EMRs wouldn’t have to complete the new requirements but it’s the impact on finding new volunteers that has Reimer worried about the future of his department.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.