Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. shifts ambulance staffing for rural communities in bid to boost emergency care

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Nov, 2023 04:05 PM
  • B.C. shifts ambulance staffing for rural communities in bid to boost emergency care

British Columbia is shifting its ambulance paramedics staffing model for 60 rural and remote communities in what Health Minister Adrian Dix says is an "unprecedented" investment in emergency health care.

Dix says three new staffing models for paramedics would increase the number of on-duty ambulance workers during nights and other off-peak times.

The shift will add 261 new full-time paramedic positions and part-time workers whose combined hours will equal 238 full-time workers for three separate models that will give flexibility for ambulance needs in each community. 

Dix says the changes come after consultations with the province's paramedics union, community leaders, First Nations and health-care professionals. 

BC Emergency Health Services chief ambulance officer Leanne Heppell says the flexibility is needed because "one model just doesn't work that well across the province," given the differences in the communities' population, demographics and overall demand.

Dix says B.C. needs more community paramedics and ambulance workers, and he urged those interested in the work to reach out while the province hires staff to fill the demand. 

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Body found in Langley explosion

Body found in Langley explosion
A body has been found by firefighters at the scene of an explosion in Langley and the province's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is now investigating. Mounties and firefighters responded to an explosion at a house in rural Langley on Sunday afternoon.

Body found in Langley explosion

Five youth, one adult taken to hospitals after school bus rolls over north of Calgary

Five youth, one adult taken to hospitals after school bus rolls over north of Calgary
Six people have been transported to hospital after a collision involving a school bus in central Alberta. An RCMP officer from Didsbury, about 82 kilometres north of Calgary, came across the school bus rollover on Highway 2A at Township Road 320, police said Monday. 

Five youth, one adult taken to hospitals after school bus rolls over north of Calgary

B.C. to remove barriers for internationally trained professionals: premier

B.C. to remove barriers for internationally trained professionals: premier
The British Columbia government has introduced legislation that is expected to add skilled workers into the labour force more quickly by reducing barriers for internationally trained professionals. Premier David Eby says B.C. cannot leave people with skills and experience on the sidelines, given labour shortages the province is facing now and in the coming years.

B.C. to remove barriers for internationally trained professionals: premier

IRCC hopes India visa operations will return to normal by early 2024: Report

IRCC hopes India visa operations will return to normal by early 2024: Report
Canada's top immigration body said that it expects Indian visa processing, set to be impacted due to recent withdrawal of diplomats, to return to normal by early 2024. According to senior officials at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the reduction of staff in India is expected to create a backlog of 17,500 'final decisions' across the country's global immigration system over the next two months.

IRCC hopes India visa operations will return to normal by early 2024: Report

India's 'muscular' foreign policy is essentially for domestic consumption: Ex-Canadian Minister Ujjal Dosanjh

India's 'muscular' foreign policy is essentially for domestic consumption: Ex-Canadian Minister Ujjal Dosanjh
Calling for immediate de-escalation in strained diplomatic relations between India and Canada, Ujjal Dosanjh, former premier of British Columbia and erstwhile Canadian Minister of Health, stressed that India's "muscular" foreign policy is essentially for domestic consumption and not granting visas to Canadian citizens hurts ordinary Indo-Canadians.  

India's 'muscular' foreign policy is essentially for domestic consumption: Ex-Canadian Minister Ujjal Dosanjh

Canadians struggling with monthly mortgage

Canadians struggling with monthly mortgage
An Angus Reid poll suggests 15 per cent of Canadians are struggling with their monthly mortgage payments. That's up from eight per cent in March and 11 per cent in June.  

Canadians struggling with monthly mortgage