Dozens more full-time paramedics to be hired in Nanaimo

The Nanaimo area is set to see 30 new full-time paramedics hired — almost double the number who are coming on to the job in Vancouver.

“This is a stable work force,” said BC Emergency Health Services executive vice-president Linda Lupini.

“They’re all on shifts that match the type of call and the peak call volume for Vancouver Island.”

Lupini said BC Emergency Health Services analyzed peak times for patient transfers – similar to what was done in Vancouver.

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Now it knows when paramedics are needed most – and they can staff those hours ahead of time instead of using on-call workers.

“We can now do really good analysis of when those calls are, when transfers usually take place with people being discharged from hospital or inter-facilities, and we’ve now been able to match those shifts with full time employees,” she said.

With 30 new full-time paramedics, Nanaimo will now have a total of 64.