Thompson down to one ambulance Monday
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/06/2025 (412 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Only one ambulance was running in Thompson Monday because of a severe staffing shortage.
Shared Health operated the only ambulance in the northern city of 13,000 people.
The two that are operated by the city’s fire department couldn’t be staffed because workers called in sick and overtime couldn’t bridge the gap.
Eric Campbell, president of the Thompson Professional Firefighters Association, said one ambulance isn’t enough in a city of that size.
He said the fire-paramedic team has shrunk to nine employees from 24, and cannot respond to the need. About 9,000 ambulance calls are made each year.
Campbell said the department often relies on volunteers to fill out the rest of the team.
“We can really only hope and pray for slow days when we’re so critically understaffed,” Campbell said. “We’re definitely just piecemealing stuff together at the moment, and that’s just a result of our staffing situation that, frankly, has been an issue for years.”
Campbell is calling on the federal, provincial and municipal government to address the staffing crisis.
— Matt Frank