Seventeen communities across Northern BC will see more ambulance services.
According to BC Emergency Health Services, rural and remote communities will benefit from improved paramedic staffing models to enhance 911 responsiveness and reliable out-of-hospital care.
Seven communities including Dease Lake, Fraser Lake, Mackenzie, Masset, McBride, Tumbler Ridge and the Village of Daajing Giids were upgraded to the 24/7 full-time “alpha” model in ambulance stations retroactive to April 1st.
Under this model, each station has 8 full-time positions.
“Since 2017, our government has supported BCEHS’s work to significantly improve paramedic staffing and strengthen and transform ambulance service throughout the province,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.
“The April 1, 2024 conversion of 60 ambulance stations across the province to more effective service delivery models that respond to each of these 60 communities’ unique needs provides more equitable access to care for people living in rural and remote communities, and better compensation and work environments for paramedics,”
In addition, Hudson’s Hope, Granisle and Southside move to a new “mix shift” model where it has staff on duty in the station twice as often.
“Emergencies can happen anywhere, and we’re strengthening ambulance care so more people throughout our province get the life-saving health care they expect and deserve,” said Nathan Cullen, MLA for Stikine.
“The Village of Granisle would like to thank both BCEHS and the Province of BC for listening and addressing the concerns many of our communities raised during various meetings,” said Village of Granisle Mayor Linda McGuire.
“We shared the cookie cutter model was not working in small, rural communities. This exciting announcement shows the flexibility rolling out and especially in the Village of Granisle in moving us forward in a positive way.”
Lastly, seven communities including Bear Lake, Kitwanga and Wells will receive new full time paramedic unit chiefs to provide support to on-call paramedic staffing.
The on-call “kilo” model leverages the latest collective agreement with paramedics, which increased the on-call rate from $2 per hour to $12 per hour.