Huron County’s Chief of Emergency Services says the pandemic is definitely one the factors contributing to the stress on Huron County paramedics.
But Jeff Horseman says another factor is the increase in call volume by six to seven per cent over last year.
“There’s a lot of extra work that’s being done by paramedics in Huron County, with long term care homes when their in outbreak, we’re doing mass vaccination clinics, the C-P Community Paramedicine Team is extremely busy right now. So there are a lot of factors,” explained Horseman.
The arrival of Omicron added to the stress as more paramedics were exposed to it and could not go to work.
“Omicron is so much more highly transmissible and it has affected us. We have had a few positive paramedics, but a lot of our exposure and staff being off are due to close contact with family members that have tested positive or are positive,” said Horseman.
Drug overdoses are also an issue in Huron County, but not as significant as they are in other municipalities.
Moving forward there are concerns about the overall shortage of paramedics, not just in Huron County, but throughout the Province.
And Horseman says that is going to become a bigger problem as they take on more responsibilities.
