Rural Manitobans should be worried about growing paramedic shortage, union says

The union that represents paramedics in rural Manitoba says critical staffing shortages that are leading to longer waits for care are becoming more dire. 

Data obtained by CBC News from Dec. 2021 shows nearly 20,000 hours when ambulances went unstaffed in rural Manitoba, up from 17,000 from last fall.

The Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals, which represents about 800 rural paramedics, calls it a deeply concerning trend, one that provides a snapshot into one area of the health-care system at the beginning of the Omicron wave in Manitoba. 

"We are seeing more and more folks having to book off," said Bob Moroz, the union's president, noting there is no clear line that can be drawn from the data to the COVID-19 pandemic's latest wave.

"We're also seeing, by the sheer amount of overtime and callbacks, people are just burning out, and that is requiring some self care," he said. "People are just having a hard time keeping up." 

Moroz says the critical shortage of staff has led to longer shifts among those still working, and longer response time.  He says paramedics working 14- to 16-hour shifts aren't uncommon, with some reports of paramedics working 20 to 23 hours at a time. 

Response times have also suffered, he says, increasing as much as 35 per cent since 2018.

"Something's got to give," Moroz said. "We just clearly don't have the people that we need to. The situation is getting much worse and it's getting much worse fast." 

CBC News requested an interview with Health Minister Audrey Gordon on Thursday. A spokesperson referred the request to Shared Health.

In a statement, the agency said while staffing of emergency response services has been a challenge in some rural parts of the province for many years, COVID-19 has exacerbated existing vacancies.

"During the winter months and particularly during the fourth wave, both a number of severe winter weather events and the Omicron variant have placed additional challenges on our workforce," an emailed statement read. 

The agency saiys it is working to recruit more paramedics, but has put out a callto recently retired or former paramedics to rejoin the workforce. 

"Entire regions are being left without coverage," Moroz said. "We just don't have enough. They're trying to plug a lot of holes and that is stretching everyone way too thin." 

That has led to hours-long waits for care for some in rural Manitoba, as ambulance and paramedics are forced to respond from great distances.