B.C. ambulance paramedic staffing affected by Omicron, says union

British Columbia’s front-line paramedics and call dispatchers are reporting a significant shortfall in staffing across the province at the moment.

Ambulance Paramedics of BC Union president Troy Clifford says on Friday and Saturday alone, between 30 and 50 per cent of the fleet of ambulances on the Lower Mainland were sidelined due to a lack of staff.

“Additional staff being off because of the spike of Omicron, and then the additional workload through the holidays, the weather conditions, all of those sorts of things that put pressure on an already-tasked system that is really challenged,” he said.

He says there was also an ongoing shortage of call-takers.

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The B.C. government pledged to increase the number of paramedics and call takers in the wake of the heat dome last summer, something Clifford says isn’t moving quickly enough.

“We are still seeing delays in emergency medical call takers able to answer calls. We just don’t have enough despite back-to-back training and additional resources added into our communication centre. At the end of the day nothing is coming quick enough for somebody who is in their time of need.”

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix announced in December that more support is coming to improve the system in the wake of several climate disasters including wildfires, heatwaves, and flooding.

“We are responding by meeting the need, by adding dispatchers, 30 already with another 35 coming and more after that to meet the need on the dispatch needs on the ambulance side, and that’s critical,” he said on Dec. 3, 2021.

The province also announced it would be implementing a long-term mental health plan to assist all first responders.

Clifford says the key stakeholders are working hard to implement the new strategies, but with Omicron now impacting staffing levels further, it’s a challenge for all involved.

“The psychological injuries on our dispatchers and paramedics when they can’t do the job that they’ve signed on for and in their profession that’s expected and what the public expects of them — that’s causing more injuries… I’m thankful the minister has committed to the additional psychological support but we haven’t been able to get that to come to the fruition the way we’ve hoped,” he said.

Adding, “We are working hard but we need more immediately influx,” he said.