Staffing challenges are impacting the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service when the service is most urgently needed.
Paramedic Chief and Director of Emergency Services Mike Nolan provided an update to the health committee on Wednesday afternoon (January 12th, 2022).
Nolan says they have developed an alternative care path for the diversion of non-acute patients from emergency rooms to be cared for in their own homes.
Instead of transferring patients to hospital, whenever possible, paramedics would care for the individual at home as an extension to primary care.
Nolan says they will be conducting in-person and virtual wellness checks and also directing individuals to the Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (RCVTAC) for care.
Nolan says the current health care system is very fragile and to the point of failure.
He adds every day, non-acute patients are regularly transported to the hospital, which is not in the best interest of the patient, the hospital, nor the paramedic service.
The Chief Paramedic says this alternative care plan would be in the best interest of non-acute patients so they would not continue to be experiencing long wait periods in hospital emergency departments, tying up Paramedic crews on an offload delay, or contributing to the overcrowding of the hospital emergency department.
The County of Renfrew Paramedic Service supports diverting appropriate non-acute patients to alternative pathways rather than taking every patient to the hospital.
The County of Renfrew Paramedic Service also supports the referral of appropriate non-acute patients to Community Paramedics to provide an in-person or virtual wellness check after they have been left at their home or residence.
