Grey County paramedics hit their target

Despite a low population density and a large geographical area, Grey County paramedics have hit their required response time performance targets for 2019.

“We are well within our targets and above average in some areas,” said Kevin McNab, director of paramedic services for Grey County, during a presentation to Grey County Council on Feb. 28.

In 2019, the average wait time of all the calls in Grey County was 7 min. 42 seconds. The department reports exceeding all average response times, except for CTAS-2 calls.

“Our CTAS-2 call times have been below average for the past four years, but we continue to work to improve that,” McNabb added.

A CTAS-2 call is in reference to the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, which is used to assign a level of acuity to a patient. A CTAS-2 is considered emergent care, for example, a head injury or chest pain, and is the most common call received. The targeted response time for a CTAS-2 call is 15 minutes or less.

“For the CTAS-2 calls we are slightly under our target. Our target is 90 per cent [under 15 mins] and we are at 88.71 per cent,” McNabb explained. “We have been below that for a while but back in 2014, our best times were just under 15 minutes, so it is a pretty aggressive time to meet.”

The department’s four-year average for CTAS-2 calls is just shy of the 90 per cent target at 89.13 per cent.

McNab explains that the response targets were developed in 2012 and despite an increasing population and increased call volumes, the department continues to improve.

“For sudden cardiac arrest our target is 40 per cent and our performance is 57.8 per cent. I believe that is about the highest it has ever been, so that is a very positive number for us,” he added.

In 2020, the county’s paramedic service will undergo a change of deployment modelling to match resource allocation during peak timeframes.

“We are looking at where most of our calls happen and aligning our resources with them. Looking at different areas of the county to try and make those functions better,” McNabb said.

McNabb will appear before county council again in the summer months with a full analysis of all the lower tiers and recommendations.

Last fall, the Ontario Ministry of Health announced plans to hold consultations with Emergency Health Services throughout the province.

In November, the Ministry released two discussion papers to set the scope for the consultations and requested a written submission in response to the discussion papers from county emergency services departments across the province.

The Grey County emergency services department has submitted a letter, outlining a number of concerns, including outdated dispatch technology; lengthy offload times and delays in transporting medically stable patients; lack of co-ordination among emergency health services partners; a need for innovative models that improve care; and health equity regarding access to services across regions and communities.

Further in-person consultations with the ministry will be carried out this Spring.

As mentioned in the department’s letter to the ministry, new dispatch technology would greatly improve operations and call response times.

“This is one of the improvements that is needed to modernize and move forward. It will really cut back our time,” he said. “There is an option, where as soon as the phone rings and it is acknowledged that they need an ambulance, it notifies the crew that there is a call coming in. At that point they haven’t even paged yet, so your shoot time disappears. We are really looking to embrace technology in order to further reduce these call times.”