More ambulances needed

A proposed increase in ambulance service in the Quinte area depends on steps to be taken by Prince Edward County.

Chair of the Emergency Measures Service, Belleville councillor Garnet Thompson, told a meeting of the group on Wednesday, “Since they’re opening a new Centre Hastings ambulance centre in Madoc, some of the ambulances normally sitting out in Belleville will have to be in Stirling.”

Emergency Services is asking Hastings County Council to request another $400,000 from the province for ambulance service this year.

Thompson told Quinte News, “So they’ll go to that new station which will give us fewer ambulances here in Belleville. If Prince Edward County doesn’t enhance their units, that’s spreading this other group even thinner.  So we’re going to possibly end up increasing our response time.”

Thompson added, “The answer is, really is, we need more ambulances. We need more paramedics. But, again, it comes to budget. We cannot afford it. The taxpayer can only afford so much, but we have to be very careful that, if the response time now is reasonable, to make sure that we don’t go too far. To keep that monitored now that we’re getting a new station.”

“If we can relieve some of the stress. They’re doing too many calls in one day. That means that maybe they’re healthier when they go home and they’re not carrying the same burden.”

Thompson continued, “Because a paramedic may, this call may go to a suicide. This one may be to another car accident. That works on the mind. And we know that. My grandson’s a paramedic and I listen to him. He doesn’t talk too much about his job but we need to make sure that if we’re stressing the workers out, somehow we got to eliminate that stress. And if we eliminate that stress, we won’t have as many calls on WSIB and or WSIB claims will go down and we won’t have the same cost on WSIB.

“That’s why we’re looking to enhance Prince Edward County. Get them to increase a little bit at a time. We’re getting the Centre Hastings ambulance up there. Distribute them better.”

Thompson added, “If they go to an enhancement, they’ll have to add an ambulance and in that ambulance their cost would go up about $400,000, which is, I don’t know what percentage-wise. But, yes they’ll be asked to put more money up to pay for that enhancement.”

The request goes to Hastings County Council at the end of this month.