New initiative aims to reduce ambulance offload times at N.S. emergency departments

The Nova Scotia government has announced a new initiative aimed at reducing ambulance offload times at hospital emergency departments across the province.

Starting Wednesday, paramedics will take low-risk patients to the emergency department waiting room, where they will be assessed by health-care staff.

Previously, paramedics had to wait with patients until a doctor took over their care.

According to the province, a low-risk patient is anyone who has normal vital signs and can sit, stand or move independently without risk of falling.

"Paramedics are a vital part of our health-care system. We need to make sure their time is spent responding to emergencies," said Health Minister Michelle Thompson in a news release.

"This policy balances the safety of patients who can wait to be seen by emergency department staff and getting our paramedics back on the streets sooner."

Paramedics will still wait with high-risk patients, such as those with a suspected stroke, chest pain, or other potentially life-threatening injuries. They will also wait with children under the age of 16.

"Watching calls join the queue while you wait with a low-risk patient in hospital is hard. When our paramedics are able to get back into their communities sooner, that benefits everyone," said Kevin MacMullin, the business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 727.

"We are hopeful that this new policy is a positive step toward getting our paramedics back to doing what they do best -- responding to emergencies."

The initiative, called the Direct to Triage Policy, is one of several initiatives designed to reduce the ongoing pressure on the EHS system, improve ambulance offload times and improve working conditions for paramedics.

AMBULANCE DELAYS HAVE BEEN ONGOING

Ambulance delays and lengthy response times have been an issue in Nova Scotia for years, but first responders have said the COVID-19 pandemic made things worse.

Between hospitals being at full capacity and staff shortages due to COVID-19, many factors have led to the province's ambulance problems.

Charbel Daniel, the executive director of provincial operations for EHS, told CTV News in January that the Omicron variant was having a big impact on paramedics, as dozens were forced to isolate.

A Nova Scotia woman also expressed her concerns over ambulance delays in February, after her husband suffered a heart attack at their home in Barrington, N.S., and died days later in hospital.

She said the ambulance took too long, with 30 minutes between her first call and its arrival -- which is the standard response time for rural areas set by the province, according to Daniel.

Nova Scotia firefighters also recently voiced their concerns over ambulance delays after continued social media posts highlighted the problem.

At the beginning of May, a Twitter account that monitors fire calls, @HRMFireNews, tweeted that fire crews responding to a motor vehicle collision on Prospect Road on May 7 were told the estimated arrival time for EHS would be three hours.

Joe Triff is a 14-year firefighter with the City of Halifax, a former paramedic, and vice-president of the Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association.

He says it's not uncommon for firefighters to have to wait for an ambulance to arrive when responding to medical calls or vehicle collisions -- something that ties up fire crews in the case of another call.

“We’ve had a number of incidents lately where an ambulance is delayed, or didn’t come,” Triff told CTV News earlier this month. “We’ve had family transport people from motor vehicle accidents.”

Firefighters are trained as medical first responders, and typically do a medical assessment of anyone who may be injured at the scene.

But Triff says that training only goes so far.

“Paramedics are the gold standard,” he says. “We don’t have the knowledge, or the equipment, or the capability to transport. So we are very relieved when our paramedic counterparts arrive, that’s the standard for all Nova Scotians.”