Death of Toronto senior shows EMS needs more paramedics

Nagging questions remain about the death of an 87-year-old Toronto woman suffering abdominal pains last December. But here’s what we know for sure: when an ambulance has been summoned, it shouldn’t take three hours to arrive. That’s what happened in her case.

Toronto Emergency Medical Services is now conducting a review of this matter, and the province is also looking into it. It’s not clear what caused the woman’s death, or whether her life could have been saved even if an ambulance had immediately appeared.

The public is being told “proper procedure” was followed at all times. And perhaps so. But there’s nothing proper about dispatched ambulances failing to arrive for hours on end.

Records show that, seven times, an ambulance was sent to carry the stricken woman to hospital from a Leaside retirement home. But before any of them arrived, even more urgent calls came in, forcing dispatchers to divert these ambulances to other locations. When the woman stopped breathing she finally became a top priority and an ambulance appeared within minutes. But by then it was too late.

The policy to divert an ambulance already en route, when a more serious case erupts, is obviously the correct approach when there’s no closer EMS crew on hand to respond. Patients who appear to be at most serious risk must be treated first. And there’s no evidence that crews, in this case, were improperly directed. But such a long string of even necessary diversions points to an inadequate system that keeps too few ambulances on the road.

There’s ample evidence that EMS staffing hasn’t kept pace with Toronto’s growing, and aging, population. According to documents filed as part of this year’s budget deliberations, emergency patient transports have increased by 36 per cent since 2005. But paramedic staff rose by just 1.2 per cent over the same period, “resulting in reduced ambulance availability.”

Some effort is being made to bridge that gap. The city recently hired 24 new EMS workers, and another 50 are being brought on board. But it still might not be enough to ensure optimum coverage, especially with vulnerable seniors being discharged from hospital earlier than ever before.

The union representing EMS staff has estimated that as many as 200 additional paramedics are needed just to keep up with growing demand. But it’s not clear if that’s correct. Determining how many more EMS workers Toronto requires to avoid dangerous delays should be a focus of on-going reviews. Once that number is in hand, it will be up to the city to hire them.

Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Editorial