Provincial plan to free up rural paramedic services leaves some concerned
The province is looking to free-up rural paramedic services by paying for a low-acuity patient transport service, but the idea is raising concerns from some who call it a 'band-aid solution.'
In a request for proposals issued by Shared Health on Friday, the province said it is looking for a service to transport hospital inpatients and personal care home residents from the Brandon, Selkirk and Winkler/Morden areas to medical appointments, diagnostic tests or for treatment.
“The transport of low-acuity inpatients to and from health-care facilities can be a prolonged process that takes ambulances in rural Manitoba out of service for hours,” Manitoba Health Minister Audrey Gordon said in a news release.
“Establishing a transport service specifically for these patients will reduce the demand for paramedics to complete these journeys, allowing them to remain in or near the community for emergency calls.”
It is a move that is not sitting well with the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, who said the province shouldn't be taking 'short cuts' to deal with paramedic staffing shortages.
"The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP) has serious concerns about the viability of the government’s plan to privatize patient transports to an unregulated industry based on an unproven pilot project," the association's president Bob Moroz said in a statement.
The province said this program was recently piloted in a few communities, and with the request for proposals out now, the province is looking to formally established with base locations in Brandon, Selkirk and the Winkler/Morden area.
“In most inter-facility transport situations, the patient or client will not require ongoing clinical supports during their journey,” Dr. Rob Grierson, chief medical officer for emergency response services with Shared Health, said in a provincial news release.
“Creating a low-acuity transport not only offers patients the right kind of care during their transport, it frees up highly skilled paramedics and ambulances to respond to emergency calls and high-acuity transports.”
However, Moroz said the MAHCP has many questions.
"Who will staff these transports and ensure patients’ safety? What training, qualifications and resources will they have, as there have been tragic outcomes in the past due to patients’ conditions changing rapidly? What are the results of the current pilot project and why aren’t they being shared?" he said.
"We need more paramedics ready to respond to medical emergencies, but there are too many unanswered questions on this band-aid solution.”
Wab Kinew, the leader of Manitoba's opposition party, also chimed in on the plan, saying the provincial government should be focussed on hiring new rural paramedics than bringing in a private company.
Gordon said the province expects the service to be in place by the end of the year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.