The Manitoba government and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) reached an agreement on Wednesday to step up ambulance capacity and ensure paramedics have the resources they need to do their job.
“It’s a win-win deal that shows what we can achieve when we work together with a shared commitment to our people and fiscal responsibility,” said Winnipeg mayor Scott Gillingham.
It includes funding for current services while also addressing and increasing patient volumes by adding two more ambulances staffed 24-7, as well as adding 20 more paramedics to the service.
In addition, it will provide cost-recovery certainty to the city of Winnipeg and WFPS for services provided on an annual basis.
“Emergency responders and members of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service have always played an important and vital role in the support and care they provide in community,” said Premier Heather Stefanson.
“This agreement is a significant investment reflecting our government’s commitment to healing health care and ensuring emergency responders will continue to be able to offer support and compassionate care during moments of medical distress.”
The agreement comes after concerns around ambulance wait times and capacity. From 2019 to 2022, the average ambulance response time jumped from just over 14 minutes to nearly 20 minutes – a rise the union representing city paramedics called concerning in March.
At the time, WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt said the service needed between seven to ten more ambulances to bring those wait times down, but finding paramedics to service them would take some time as many are leaving the profession due to burnout.
WFPS has provided ambulance service for 48 years in the city and Schmidt said he is proud to continue the unified service and provide residents with high-quality, compassionate and innovative emergency medical care.
Commenting about the new agreement, Schmidt said that while it won’t solve all the issues linked to response times and stemming from higher demands, it will “take us a step in the right direction.”
“I think we can all agree that this has been a long time coming,” said Schmidt. “This announcement today puts an end to many uncertainties within our workforce, rumours and tensions, and it allows us to focus on other important things like our residents.”
He says there are approximately 650 specialized paramedics in the WFPS.
Kyle Ross agreed there’s a lot more that can be done. As the president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, he said current staff are burning out trying to keep up with the demand.
“The vagueness of the announcement, I think there’s a lot more that they haven’t told us yet,” said Ross. “I really struggle to believe that it will go far enough for what our members are looking for and (what) Winnipeggers are looking for.”
Premier Stefanson has maintained that the agreement is meant to heal the province’s health-care system.
The agreement covers a period of five years, between May 10, 2023, and Dec 31, 2027, with an option to extend additional five-year terms if agreed to by both parties. Funding will be approved annually through agreed-upon processes that allow for discussion of ongoing and continuing services as well as future patient volume increases, the premier noted.
For 2023, funding will consist of a combination of baseline funding of $51.9 million and one-time funding of $2.1 million for recognized cost recovery items.
– with files from Global’s Rosanna Hempel
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