Is the City of Toronto Facing an EMS Crisis?

I read a news report in the Toronto Sun newspaper, that suggests our Paramedics are being pushed to the limit. It suggests that they are forced to wait in Hospital emergency rooms for hours on end waiting for patients to be "offloaded" by ER staff. Paramedics are forced to work 10-12 hour days and sometimes go without a lunch break. The most distrurbing piece of the entire story was the suggestion that Paramedics cannot respond to 911 calls and that the available ambulance count drops as low as zero on a daily basis.

Anyone who lives in Ontario will remember the promise made by our Provincial Government in 2004, that the implemented Health Tax or "Healthcare Premium" as is was penned, would contribute to a "healthier Ontario" by doing the following:
- Shortening wait times
- Expanding primary and community-based care;
- Increasing the number of doctors and nurses;
- Delivering results in a more cost effective manner; and
- Ensuring that the system has the resources it needs.

If this is all true, why are our Paramedics being held "hostage" by Hospital Emergency room staff? If there are more Doctors and Nurses, why is the patient offload delay so long? These paramedics are having to administer emergency care even after the patient arrives at the hospital. On the Toronto EMS website, Local CUPE 419 chairman issued a Media Advisory, suggesting the situation is not a serious as being portrayed in the media.

The chairman goes on to say the following:

-Toronto EMS responds to all emergency 911 calls according to medical priority, and the public should have confidence that EMS will be there in times of medical emergency. EMS does not refuse emergency care to anyone, even when it is extremely busy.

-EMS has a dynamic system and the resources available are constantly shifting according to demand. When the count is low, EMS relies on emergency response units (SUVs staffed by a single paramedic) and paramedic supervisors to provide fast emergency medical care until an ambulance arrives.

- Toronto EMS paramedics are stretched as a result of off-load delay. Up to 19 ambulances and 38 paramedics are tied up at hospitals each hour every day. Our priority is to get those paramedics out of the hospital and back into the community, which will relieve pressure on the system.

-Sometimes paramedics get their meal break late or not at all, due to offload delay and high call volumes. EMS has a negotiated agreement from 2007 that governs these cases

I believe in light of all the reports regarding our emergency health care, we should all take a minute to consider how important health care is to us, the next time a Provincial election rolls around.