RENFREW COUNTY — At the February meeting of County Council a delegation from ApexPro Consulting Inc. delivered a ‘Situational Review of Eastern Ontario Paramedic Services’. Mr. Marvin Rubenstein spoke to Council about the report he prepared over the last several months that collected data on Paramedic Services from across the thirteen municipalities comprising the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC). The comprehensive report included data regarding response times, off-load times at hospitals, dispatch and call volumes.
The report also pointed out that the Ontario Aging at Home Act (2010) provided funding to several agencies and organizations to allow seniors to live independently in their own homes, and at the same time was to reduce the number of patients occupying hospital beds. However, the Province did not provide any additional funding to Paramedic Services despite the strain on Paramedic Services in support of that initiative increasing substantially.
The report went on to demonstrate that innovative approaches like Community Paramedicine piloted in Renfrew County, and then adopted in other communities, provinces and even globally have contributed to alleviating many of the pressures faced in what has been termed “Hallway Health Care’ by the Province of Ontario. Additionally the report strongly demonstrated the need to have continued and predictable funding support from the Province to paramedic services across Eastern Ontario. Given the rural nature of Renfrew County and other similar municipalities there are pressures on local services to meet response time guidelines and are often experience long offload times when transferring a patient to the hospitals. The report identified these pressures and assured County Council that the County of Renfrew Service is doing very well in terms of comparable data from peer Paramedic Services in Eastern Ontario, but the report suggested that more investment in innovative approaches by the Province could make a real impact for residents that access health services in the County. He continued saying, “Governance changes are not the solution to current paramedic service challenges.”
Mr. Rubenstein overviewed approaches like expanding Community Paramedicine further and even having additional nursing staff added to local hospitals that are specifically on duty to receive and transfer patients from Paramedics to hospital care in a more efficient and speedy manner that would put Paramedics back into the community faster and available to respond to additional calls. Mr. Rubenstein stated that his report found that “Eastern Ontario Paramedic Services deliver efficient, effective and innovative services that are compliant with provincial legislation, responsive to local needs, and are integrated into the provincial health system.”
Warden of the County of Renfrew Debbie Robinson thanked Mr. Rubenstein for his comprehensive report and shared this, “Today’s report reaffirmed that the County of Renfrew’s innovative approach to Paramedic Services with programs like Community Paramedicine are delivering patient centred care that directly supports the Province of Ontario’s goal to end Hallway Health Care. It is clear however that predictable and stable investment in this program and new programs like additional intake nurses for hospitals need to be adopted and expanded across our region so that our Paramedic Service can continue to efficiently deliver the excellent services our residents receive.”
Chair of the County of Renfrew Health Committee Michael Donohue had this comment “Efficient and patient centred health care is of utmost importance to our residents. Today’s report demonstrates we have a highly efficient and effective Paramedic Service in Renfrew County, and with Provincial investment in new and innovative approaches both for Paramedic Services and in the broader healthcare sector will strengthen those results further. The recommendations of this report presented data that clearly demonstrates health service delivery across Renfrew County improves patient experience and supports the goal to End Hallway Health Care. It remains imperative that the Province continue to fully fund these initiatives that reduce systemic strain and allow our residents to remain in their communities.”
