Winnipeg paramedics calling for more support

As Canada marks National Paramedic Services Week, a time to honour the dedication of those on the front lines, new survey results are shedding light on the serious challenges facing Winnipeg paramedics behind the scenes. 

According to a new survey of Winnipeg’s paramedics, nearly three-quarters have seriously thought about quitting in the past year, and 93 per cent say they’ve experienced violence on the job. The paramedic union’s president, Kyle Ross, points to increased calls related to homelessness, addiction, and chronic staffing shortages. 

“There’s so much overtime they don’t have the time to recover from seeing these things and processing these traumatic incidents they’re seeing daily, it’s a really tough situation to be in,” said Ross.

Veteran paramedic Ryan Woiden says the situation will keep getting worse as more of his colleagues leave.

“I think I looked at lists recently that showed upwards of 80 paramedics have either left and gone to a rural service, moved to the fire department or police service, or got out of the profession altogether,” said Woiden.

“Keeping that patient in the home waiting for us to get there seems to keep being longer and longer time, and that puts more pressure on them and us going call to call, and it certainly affects their mental health, because there is no time in between.”

Both Ross and Woiden are calling for better support, before, during, and after their shifts. 

“It’s really a lot of problems compounding one on top of another these days, someone needs to step in and address it,” said Woiden.

Ross added, “It’s not an overnight fix, it will take time and buy-in from leadership.”

The union says it’s ready to work with the city to find solutions, but warns that without urgent action, the system risks losing more of the very people who keep it running. The city did not respond to requests for comment at this time.

CityNews also reached to WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt, who said being a paramedic is a difficult job, and the workload and stress can be a challenge.

“In recent years, our call volumes have increased, and the acuity of calls has also increased. The increased use of substances like opioids has also intensified some aspects of our work and increased on-the-job violence. This impacts both workload and stress for our staff,” said Schmidt.

“WFPS has taken steps to better serve residents and provide a better experience for our members. For example, the City has made significant investments to the WFPS Behavioural Health Unit to support members who have mental health concerns. It provides access to targeted supports and resources including behavioural health nurse, and a clinical psychologist when needed.”

Schmidt added that the method in which emergency calls have been dispatched has changed. Calls are being prioritized differently, which is allowing paramedics to be available to respond to time-dependent calls.

“While this change was only implemented a few weeks ago, we are confident the impacts will be positive,” Schmidt explained.

“The City operates Emergency Medical Services on a full cost-recovery basis on behalf of Shared Health and receives yearly funding letters. We regularly update Shared Health about our department’s call volumes and staffing levels and the challenges facing our members.”