Ontario adds 300 new spaces in paramedic college programs, 18 more spots coming to Conestoga College
In the hopes of getting more ambulances on the road, colleges across Ontario will get 300 new spaces in their paramedic programs, Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced Thursday.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for Ontario students who are looking to have a career in emergency services to access the world-class training offered at our colleges,” Jones said.
Niko Georgiadis, chair of the CUPE Ambulance Committee of Ontario (CACO) says the move is a good start to help with healthcare staffing shortages.
"We need to see proactive measures like this moving forward as opposed to doing a one-time thing," Georgiadis said.
LOCAL PICTURE
As part of the initiative, Conestoga College in Kitchener will offer 18 new spaces in its paramedic program. Typically there would be 42 in the class, but this fall, 60 students will get the chance to wear the stripes.
Dave Bryant, co-vice president of CUPE Local 5191, which represents Region of Waterloo paramedics, says while he is glad the province recognizes the need for more paramedics, more needs to be done to help with the recruitment process, particularly locally.
"The Region of Waterloo... we're competing with other bigger services like Toronto, Peel Region, that sort of thing, which is difficult for retention and recruitment locally," Bryant said.
'THE FIRST STEP'
Similarly, while CACO also welcomes Thursday's announcement it says it’s not a long-term solution.
"That's obviously the first step. It's just how do we move forward and make sure that we can help solve the staffing crisis in the future," Georgiadis said. "We need the province to come up with a staffing strategy that identifies paramedic vacancy rates across the province and determines how many paramedics we need in the next two years, five years, ten years."
The health minister says the province is spending $51 million over three years to hire emergency department staff dedicated to the transfer of patients from ambulances to relieve paramedic offload delays.
Bryant remains hopeful the Region of Waterloo will see an increase in the number of paramedics serving the area but says it will be a long road ahead.
"It is going to be an ever going struggle," he said. "We're keeping our head above water for now, so we just need to keep doing that and like I said, we just need to keep adding more and more paramedics and doing what we're doing."
A spokesperson for Conestoga College says the school is committed to supporting workforce needs and plans to graduate up to 108 paramedics over the next two years. Since it's a two-year program, those number are likely to increase in future.
With files from CTV News Barrie.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING NEWS 'A horrible way to start the summer': 3 killed in serious boat crash on lake north of Kingston, Ont.
Three people were killed and five others were injured Saturday night following a boat crash on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.
Fall River residents allowed to return after suspicious package deemed no threat to the public: N.S. RCMP
The Nova Scotia RCMP had some Fall River residents evacuate their homes for a number of hours to investigate a suspicious package which appeared on someone’s doorstep.
French security forces work to regain control of airport highway in violence-scorched New Caledonia
Using armoured vehicles and backhoes to shove aside charred barricades, French security forces worked Sunday to retake control of the highway to the international airport in violence-scorched New Caledonia, shuttered because of deadly unrest wracking the French Pacific archipelago where indigenous people have long sought independence from France.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
VIDEO Born without front legs, this dog has been inspiring the world for 3 years: Dresden farm owner
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
Helicopter carrying Iran's hard-line president apparently crashes in foggy, mountainous region
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray.