• About Us
  • Contacts
  • EMS Advisory Committee
    • Contacts
    • Terms of Reference
  • General Information
  • Letters
  • Misson & Vision Statement
  • Paramedics
  • Privacy Statement
    • Privacy Policies
      • AD-23 PHIP - Administration
      • AD-24 PHIP Paramedics
  • Stations
    • Armstrong Station
    • Beardmore Station
    • Conmee Station
    • Geraldton Station
    • Nipigon Helipad
    • Longlac Station
    • Manitouwadge Station
    • Marathon Station
    • Nakina Station
    • Nipigon Station
    • Red Rock Station
    • Schreiber Station
    • Shuniah Station
    • Thunder Bay - Roland St., Arthur St., & Beck St. Stations
    • Terrace Bay Station
    • Upsala Station
    • Response Time Defined
  • Vehicles
• First Response Teams
  • About
  • Contacts
  • East Gorham First Response Team
  • Kaministiqua First Response Team
  • Lappe First Response Team
  • Nolalu First Response Team
  • O'Connor First Response Team
  • Oliver First Response Team
  • Paipoonge First Response Team
• Links
• Medical Control
  • Opals Respiratory
• SNEMS News
  • On the Lighter Side
  • Media Releases
  • Municipal Reports
  • Reports to Council
  • Resuscitation Club
  • What's New
  • What's New Archives
• Quality Assurance
  • General Information
• Recruitment
  • What is a Paramedic?
  • Becomming a Paramedic
  • Paramedic Colleges
• Superior North EMS Feedback Form

Superior North EMS Poised to Improve Paramedic Response Times

November 5, 2002 - Before the end of November, SNEMS will submit a revised action plan to Thunder Bay City Council to improve emergency medical services in Upsala, Shuniah, Red Rock, Nakina, Manitouwadge, and Thunder Bay. Recent funding provided by the province was not sufficient to address all the needs of the ambulance services, but will make some headway in improving response times.

Most ambulance services in the north are on 12 hr shifts on site and 12 hrs on call, seven days per week. The new funding will allow Shuniah, Red Rock, Nakina, and Manitouwadge stations to move from 8 to 10 hour shifts on site seven days a week. Paul Charbonneau, manager of the Eastern Region stated "These changes will not only help improve our response times, but will also alleviate pressures on paramedics based in those communities by hiring one more full time paramedic per station."

Under the plan, Thunder Bay will see an additional ambulance on the streets 24 hours per day to improve deployment and ensure that the city has enough paramedics to handle peak demands. In addition, a single paramedic in a paramedic response unit will be utilized for rapid response to emergencies to help when needed, until an ambulance arrives. These changes mean that an additional 12 full time paramedics will need to be hired for Thunder Bay. Many more part time paramedics will need to be hired as well. "This is the first major step in improving response times in the city" said Mike Trodd, manager of the Western Region. "The only remaining piece of the puzzle is the relocation and building of a new ambulance station" he added.

The province has yet to approve their share of the funding to facilitate the construction of a new EMS base to be located centrally on Thunder Bay's north side. Another submission has been made to the province for their share of the funding for a new base in Thunder Bay and to move all of the regional stations to a minimum of 12 hrs on site. Should council approve the action plan, implementation will occur as soon as is possible over the next few months.