PC MLA asks when King will uphold promise to add more ambulances

A Progressive Conservative backbencher and long-time paramedic from the Souris area wants to know when his own government will uphold its promise to add more ambulances on Prince Edward Island.

Robin Croucher raised the issue in the legislature Wednesday, saying he knows the strain paramedics are feeling and he worries about burnout. 

With the pressures being felt at hospital right across P.E.I., he said he fears the strain will only get worse.

"Our paramedics are overworked," he said. "They struggle with workload, burnouts, and I am worried about them."

During the spring election campaign, the PCs promised to add four new full-time ambulances to the Island EMS fleet. Croucher said these four new units would reduce pressure on the system and response time for current paramedics.

He asked the premier when Islanders could expect to see the government follow through on that promise. 

"When does our government intend to see these four new units put into service?" 

Premier Dennis King said getting more vehicles on the road is one thing, but finding people to properly staff the new ambulances is the real challenge. 

"We're working closely with Holland College; there's 47 grads expected from Holland College this year," King said.

"We're obviously hoping to bring some of those online as quickly as possible, but we want to make sure we can do this without causing more impact on the system. We don't want to have three vehicles on and have nobody in them." 

King didn't give a timeline for when those four new ambulances could be on the road. 

Croucher said Island EMS recently hired 17 additional staff, which he called positive news, but he said more needs to be done to fill vacancies and expand services. 

He asked the premier what measures are being taken to recruit and streamline applications to get more paramedics into the field faster. 

King said those 17 new staff members are now going through an orientation process with Island EMS.