Paramedic program expanding in Sudbury this fall

Sudbury's Cambrian College announced Wednesday it is expanding its paramedic program.

The program will grow by 40 students, with 20 additional students enrolling in September and another 20 in January 2024.

The college said it decided to break up the numbers for a better student-teacher ratio.

Derek McKinnon, program coordinator with Cambrian College, said it will help the health care system provincially and locally.

"Our students get recruited domestically into Sudbury and throughout the entire province," McKinnon said.

"So we're hoping this could help throughout the province in many ways to make sure we have enough paramedics on the road to respond to our communities."

The expansion is part of the province's efforts to boost the number of paramedics in Ontario. It announced last month 300 new spots in paramedic programs across Ontario colleges.

Chris Mask, primary care paramedic for Temiskaming District EMS, said paramedicine has changed drastically in recent years and a number of professionals are overworked.

"Finding more people to fill these roles, allowing for people to have time off, allow for that mental health recuperation, I think that’s the best thing anything could ask for," Mask said.

• Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
• Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox

McKinnon said the program is in high demand.

"It's always been a high-demand program," he said.

"But now we're seeing a little bit more. We get (more than) 300 plus applications for a 60 typical seat. It is difficult to get into."

Cambrian said students interested in applying for the September session will be waitlisted, but there are still openings available for January.