Many Winnipeg paramedics considering quitting: survey

Minutes after resuscitating an unresponsive child, stabilizing an injured patient or administering life-saving medication to an overdose victim, Winnipeg paramedics often rush to their next call without time to catch their breath, union leaders said Wednesday.

The demands of emergency care, including violent incidents, along with burnout and understaffing, have resulted in many paramedics considering a job change, according to survey results released by the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union.

“Doing CPR on somebody isn’t a normal human event… sometimes we are doing it two, three times in a day. Sometimes on the same person,” MGEU Local 911 president Ryan Woiden told a news conference.

“It might shock people, but that’s why we are here today.”

About 287 paramedics and dispatchers were asked to participate in the survey, which collected responses from 205 members during a week in April.

The results revealed 71 per cent have seriously considered quitting in the last year; 77 per cent said they feel emotionally drained or burned out because of stress; 67 per cent believe staffing is inadequate; and 63 per cent say they have limited support from management.

Of the participants, 93 per cent said they have experienced violence on the job, while 24 per cent said such incidents occur daily and 41 said they happen weekly.

“While people sleep in their beds, paramedics are out there, and they’re getting things swung at them, kicked, punched — it’s all sorts of things going on out there,” said Woiden, who has been a paramedic for 25 years.

“When you call 911, you want to know that someone is going to be there, and we want to be there for those citizens. But the reality is the system… is not supporting the people that are responding, and it’s not supporting the people that are expecting us there. Our crews are physically and emotionally exhausted.”

The union represents 390 paramedics and dispatchers in Winnipeg. Only those who provided their contact information were able to respond to the survey, a union spokesperson said.

Woiden said city paramedics often work without breaks and sometimes are assigned to emergencies when they are still treating a patient.

“Imagine you’re trying to help somebody, and you have a patient on your stretcher in the hospital, and then, when you offload them… you realize you’ve been (assigned another) call for four or five minutes, and you didn’t even know,” said Woiden.

He joined MGEU president Kyle Ross to call on the city and provincial government to bolster staffing and mental health supports.

They urged officials to re-examine the service delivery policies of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service to find deficiencies.

Woiden suggested some calls do not warrant emergency transfers to the hospital, and could be better handled by treating people in their homes, co-ordinating home care or the delivery of pharmaceuticals.

Paramedics must “be able to engage the public in a way that isn’t always lights and sirens, off to the hospital,” he said.

“I don’t think (the system needs) an entire major overhaul, I think we need to make tweaks that the front-line people are suggesting.”

WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt said in an email that call volumes and acuity have increased in recent years, and the prevalence of illicit drugs such as opioids has increased on-the-job violence.

In response, the WFPS has invested in its behavioural health unit, which provides mental health support, Schmidt said.

The WFPS regularly updates provincial health authourities about call volumes, staffing levels and challenges faced by its employees, he said.

“While I have not seen the survey described, it’s important to me to hear what our members have to say and I look forward to receiving the results,” Schmidt said.

“This is a difficult job, and we have a talented team who come to work ready to make a positive difference in the lives of residents facing emergencies. I also know the workload and stress from this role can be a challenge.”

Schmidt said the WFPS has changed the way it dispatches emergency calls to ensure the most time-dependent emergencies are first priority. This ensures paramedics are available to respond quickly, and also means less-urgent calls wait longer in the queue, he said.

“By prioritizing with more precision, we are also able to ensure crews are getting the breaks they need for lunches, training, etc.,” Schmidt said in his email. “While this change was only implemented two weeks ago, we are confident the impacts will be positive.”

Ross said the survey results highlight a crisis among first responders that has been brewing for years.

He cautioned the situation could lead to a rise in psychological injuries.

Woiden said some paramedics are taking early retirement, switching to policing or firefighting, or moving out of the city.

A targeted recruitment drive and increase in career incentives could encourage new paramedics to join the city’s complement, Ross said.

The veteran paramedic stressed solutions must go beyond hiring more staff and must focus on improving the daily work environment.

The province issued a statement late in the day.

“This past year we hired over 1,600 net new health care workers to our system. We know that there is more work to be done. That’s why we’ve also signalled our intent to focus on staffing up paramedics by adding a position to our retention and recruitment office to focus specifically on allied health professionals,” it read, in part.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Paramedic survey