Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Chad Klassen

PARADEMIC SHORTAGE

Kamloops facing potential of limited ambulance service overnight Tuesday

Jun 7, 2022 | 4:29 PM

KAMLOOPS — UPDATE: Paramedics coming off a 12-hour dayshift took up overtime to ensure there will be full ambulance service in the city until 11 p.m. Tuesday (June 7).

“Very thankful to all the Kamloops duty crews that stepped up to work late tonight!” said one text message sent to CFJC Today from paramedics on the ground in Kamloops.

However, beyond 11 p.m., it’s looking grim with only three paramedics on duty, then down to one staff at 2 a.m. until day shift begins at six in the morning.

The lone paramedic will be paired with a supervisor to have one ambulance available overnight.

EARLIER: There may be minimal ambulance service in Kamloops on Tuesday night (June 7), though B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) says neighbouring stations are stepping in to help..

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As of the morning, there was only one paramedic scheduled to work, not enough for any ambulance service in the city.

However, in a statement emailed to CFJC Today late Tuesday afternoon, BCEHS says there are four ambulances staffed for Tuesday evening and two staffed for the overnight period.

“As a provincial ambulance service with no municipal boundaries, when there are unstaffed ambulances we have a strong system in place to find additional staff and send ambulances from the surrounding stations,” said the statement.

“Tonight is one of those things that I’d like to say is an isolated incident, but it’s not,” said President of the Ambulance Paramedics & Dispatchers of BC Troy Clifford. “I know they’ll pull in resources and move them around as best they can, but that puts a lot of pressure on the system — on the paramedics, the dispatchers — because we don’t have the resources around to pull in. If we had them, we’d be staffed in Kamloops.”

Clifford noted since the notice came out on Tuesday morning, there maybe one or two more paramedics that have picked up shifts and be working overnight.

“[The supervisors] are doing everything they can, but not having much success in filling that,” he said.

He says there are ideally four ambulances operating during an overnight period in Kamloops — compared to seven or eight emergency teams during the day. Recently, the number of ambulances at night have been as low as two.

Clifford says BCEHS management has known there are about 300 vacant shifts in June for a while, but he notes there simply aren’t enough paramedics to fill the shifts.