Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics are expecting to spend at least 52,000 hours waiting to deliver patients to hospitals next year, unless things change in the months to come.
Interim Chief Rick Ferron said off-load delays have been increasing for the past few years, with more than 33,000 hours spent waiting to deliver patients to hospitals this year, and 21,000 hours spent waiting in 2021.
The 52,000 hours of off-load delays expected in 2023 equivalent to almost six years, may be even worse, considering the impact the triple threat of influenza, COVID-19 and RSV are having on hospital emergency departments.
Meanwhile, he said health-care providers at all levels are having issues with human resources and other factors, so it’s a bit hard to predict where it’s going to go.
Ferron will present a report on the pressures paramedics are facing at a Niagara Region public health and community services committee meeting on Jan. 10.
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