BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) and the provincial government announced a new “Alpha” paramedic staffing model on Thursday Nov 9th, which will mean more reliable 24/7 staffing for paramedic services on Gabriola Island, with at least 8 full-time paramedics on station at any given time.
Prior to this, the island had a scheduled on-call (SOC) system, which had paramedics working up to 72 hours straight. Gabriola is one of 21 communities in BC to implement the new “Alpha” Model, with 39 other communities opting to use the new “Mix-shift” and “Kilo” models, all of which are modified staffing protocols for the first responders themselves. This change will benefit both communities and paramedic staff with a faster and more reliable response time and a better work/life balance.
During the official press release, Leanne Heppell, BCEHS’ Chief Ambulance Officer said, “We recognize that one staffing model doesn’t work for all parts of the province, and these three models will help us improve our services to better meet the needs of the community and patients and enable more of our paramedics to live and work in their home communities.”
The SOC model and a lack of paramedic staff in recent years had meant the emergency response time was on average 20 minutes, more than double Nanaimo’s wait time according to CUPE BC. As a result, Gabriola Fire Rescue crews were often asked to handle serious medical calls or transport patients to the Nanaimo hospital, according to an article by Simon Little on Global News.
“It just takes forever” said Michael Reid, long-time Gabriola resident. “If you have an accident out here, you’re almost better just driving yourself to the hospital than waiting for the ambulance to come.”
In addition to reducing response time and better treatment of paramedics, these new models will also help create jobs for people in local communities. By shifting many part-time positions to full time, BCEHS announced that there will be 271 new full-time positions added while increasing on-call pay.
Lynne Christie, a registered nurse with Interior Health said, “Hopefully these better working conditions, pay, and work/life balance will encourage people to enter into the field of emergency care. This would definitely help improve the service response times and patient outcomes in rural communities.”
Ultimately, the implementation of these models will benefit not just Gabriola and other rural communities in BC, but also ensure first responders in these communities are rested and rewarded to provide better service.
Visit the BCEHS website for hiring details and additional information.
