Ontario Connecting People to Faster Emergency Care

Investments to improve further delivery of high-quality emergency care

October 16th, 2024

Thunder Bay — The Ontario government is increasing land ambulance funding by 13 per cent, bringing the province’s total investment in the region to $18,962,078 this year. This increase in base funding helps ensure municipalities address increased costs so they can continue to deliver high-quality emergency care.

“Our government’s 13% increase in land ambulance funding will help municipalities manage rising costs while ensuring high-quality emergency services,” said Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay – Atikokan. “By introducing the Medical Priority Dispatch System, we’re also enabling patients in urgent need to receive faster care, improving outcomes across the region.”

“Superior North EMS is grateful for the generous investment from our province and the steadfast support of MPP Holland.” said Shane Muir, Chief of Superior North EMS “This funding increase embodies our shared commitment to advancing community well-being. Through collaboration, we can transform our aspirations into reality and create lasting, positive change. With this boost in funding, our service will continue to acquire essential equipment, ambulances, and enhance our service delivery for all the communities we serve.”

In addition, to further reduce delays paramedics encounter when dropping patients off at a hospital, Ontario is investing $226,076 in Thunder Bay through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program to hire more nurses and other eligible health professionals dedicated to offloading ambulance patients in hospital emergency departments.

The program allows paramedics to get back out into the community faster and respond to their next 9-1-1 call sooner and has played a significant role in reducing ambulance offload times and increasing ambulance availability for 9-1-1 patients across the province. As a result of this investment and the dedication of health care professionals, provincial ambulance offload time has been reduced by more than 50 per cent since its peak in October 2022.

To ensure urgent patients receive critical care sooner, Ontario is also continuing to implement the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) across the province. The system helps to better prioritize and triage emergency medical calls and dispatch paramedics sooner. Over the last year, the province has rolled out MPDS to Mississauga, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Renfrew, and are accelerating progress to implement the system at the 15 remaining dispatch sites across Ontario over a year ahead of schedule.

With Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the government continues to take action to strengthen the health care system so that it is responsive and is evolving to meet the health needs and priorities of Ontarians, no matter where they live.

QUICK FACTS

The government’s additional investments into the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program over three years will help municipalities cover around 800,000 dedicated hours to support offloading ambulance patients in the emergency department.

Currently over 200 patient care models led by paramedic services across the province are now approved to provide appropriate and timely care options for eligible 9-1-1 patients in the community, instead of in the emergency department.

The government is helping more students become paramedics by adding more than 300 spaces in paramedic programs at provincial colleges across Ontario, making it easier for future paramedics to access education and training closer to home.

The Ontario Learn and Stay Grant is providing over 350 first-year paramedic students studying in select Northern postsecondary institutions with funding for free tuition, books, compulsory fees and other direct educational costs. After graduating, students will need to work in the same region they studied for a minimum of six months for every full year of study funded by the grant.