Ornge paramedics oppose provincial government amendment, say healthcare shortages a concern

Highly trained professionals at Ornge are a beacon of hope for roughly 20,000 Ontarians a year needing critical care.

Recently, the Ontario Ministry of Health proposed a change to the Ambulance Act, recommending that nurses, doctors and respiratory therapists could work alongside paramedics on their flights.

While staffing shortages are prevalent at Ornge, bargaining groups say this is a bandaid approach that will increase the pressure on hospitals and healthcare workers already under strain.

Geoffrey Brown works for Unifor 2002, the union representing Ornge. He’s also a critical care flight paramedic. He said staffing shortages had been prevalent since he joined Unifor as a member five years ago.

“What it’s going to do is provide a greater crunch in the healthcare system. Your RTs, your nurses and your doctors all work in hospitals. They’re already faced with their own issues of staffing,” added Brown.

Barb Cameron, a Sudbury-area critical care paramedic for three decades, agreed.

“Nurses, RTs and physicians are vital staff in those areas and we are in a critical shortage right now. So to further exacerbate the problem by drawing from them, is not a long term solution,” said Cameron.

She told CTV News that she believes this is not the best use of taxpayers’ dollars.

“As a taxpayer, to pay a physician to do paramedics job, I don’t believe that’s the best use for our tax dollars. Those physicians, every physician that we have in this province, is vitally needed,” she added.

In a statement to CTV News, Ornge said it supports the regulation change and “the ability to recruit alternate health care providers and train them to be critical care transport clinicians would help us achieve the staffing levels required to provide timely service to our most critically ill patients.”

The statement also reads that it will help Ornge “improve access to care for those residents living in rural and remote communities, particularly those living fly-in only remote Indigenous communities.”

With the main concern being the impact on hospitals, the other concern lies in the length of time that the proposal was left open for public comment.

The standard 30-day window was shortened to a period of seven days, leaving some thinking this was not open for discussion at all.

“It strikes me that they’re not interested in negotiating. They’re not interested in hearing feedback—legitimate feedback—as to what, why or why not this may be good or bad for paramedics,” said Brown.

Cameron points to an emphasis on recruiting in the north as one solution.

“If the problem is in the north, find a solution in the north. People who live here are passionate about where they come from,” she said.

“And if we can find a commitment to further education, keep them in the community where they come from, where their families are from, then they will have a work-life balance and that will keep them in the profession.”

Additionally, bargaining groups said other incentives, such as a recruitment bonus, northern living allowances and retention pay would also address staffing shortages at Ornge.