Alarming paramedic shortages in rural Manitoba causing burnout, long waits, union says

Rural Manitoba paramedics are blaring their sirens over what their union calls critical staffing shortages that are leading to severe burnout and hours-long wait times for patients.

Every health region outside of Winnipeg is facing staff shortages, but particularly in the Northern and Interlake-Eastern health regions, said Bob Moroz, president of the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP). 

"It's really coming to that crisis point right now, where our medics are calling out to us daily, that we need to be able to deal with this," said Moroz.

Between 20 and 30 per cent of shifts in the Interlake-Eastern Health region regularly go unfilled, while there are 33 per cent fewer paramedics available on some shifts in the Prairie Mountain Health region, the union said. 

The Northern Health region has a longstanding shortage.

Paramedics are sometimes called to respond to calls up to three hours away. 

Job vacancies are going unfilled, with 30 paramedic vacancies recently going unfilled in Prairie Mountain.

Space shortages in hospitals in Winnipeg are compounding the problem, as paramedic crews are often tied up for hours in order to transfer patients between facilities to free up beds.

"So now that crew is taken essentially out of service in their area to do a transfer, quite often in the middle of the night, for no other reason than because that facility requires that bed to be cleared as soon as possible," said Moroz.

The shortages are forcing paramedics to work unsustainable levels of overtime, Moroz said.

NDP health-care critic Uzoma Asagwara said the provincial government is relying on an understaffed workforce to fill the holes they created with their own cuts, leading to longer waits for critical care.

A spokesperson for Manitoba Shared Health said staffing of emergency response services in rural areas, which has historically been challenging, has been further complicated by COVID-19. They said "significant efforts" are ongoing to improve staffing levels, including recruitment initiatives and the use of relief staff and contracted services.

Burnout among rural Manitoba paramedics has led some to transfer out of the regions into Winnipeg, where pay is better and distances are shorter, Moroz said. Others simply leave the profession altogether.

The contract with paramedics represented by MAHCP expired in 2018, and collective bargaining for a new agreement is expected to begin in the fall. The union plans to raise these issues with the provincial government.

In addition to increasing strain on paramedics, the shortages are putting patients at increased risk, Moroz said.

"The longer it takes for our medics to be able to respond to that emergency, the worse that the outcome could be."

Moroz says the province needs to immediately start hiring more paramedics.

Health-care workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which is currently in negotiations with the province, recently voted 97 per cent in favour of a strike. 

Rural paramedics could take a similar vote unless solutions can be found, Moroz said.

"We have to go to the table in good faith, but we don't know how they're going to treat us," he said.

The MAHCP represents over 6,500 members across the province, including 800 rural paramedics.