Winnipeg firefighters, paramedics off the job for 17,600 hours over 10 months due to psychological injuries

Psychological injuries forced paramedics and firefighters in Winnipeg off their jobs for thousands of hours last year, straining already understaffed essential services.

And the fallout is also leading to burnout in on-the-job members, their respective unions and a Canadian expert say. 

Data from the City of Winnipeg shows 189 claims from Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) members were processed by the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) for psychological injuries at the workplace between January and October 2024. 

Out of the total claims, 41 resulted in 17,626 hours of leave granted to firefighters and paramedics who were off the job due to injuries to their mental health — the highest number recorded since 2019. 

Firefighters were off the job for 2,896 hours, while paramedics tallied 14,730 hours in psychological claims. 

Ryan Woiden, president of MGEU Local 191 — the union representing Winnipeg paramedics — said that number amounts to more than 1,100 12-hour shifts left vacant.

"We're talking about two to three shifts per day being lost," he said. "Unless they're being staffed with overtime, we shut those trucks down, and we have a decrease in the amount of ambulances available to respond to 911 calls."

A leading factor for the sheer number of hours lost in claims, which more than doubled from last year within paramedics, is the nature of calls paramedics are being exposed to. 

"We're going to more unnatural human events … we're seeing a breakdown of society firsthand, on somebody's doorstep," Wooden said, as paramedics respond to more calls involving domestic and intimate partner violence. 

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Paramedics' mental health is affected by calls involving criminal activity, Woiden said, where members can't provide the same level of support as in medical emergencies. 

"The lack of answers for those people is causing additional sadness … they just can't keep carrying this burden," he said. 

Paramedics are also reversing more overdoses than before. The toxic drug supply has also led to more "volatile behaviour" from patients, the union president said, leading to more assaults on paramedics. 

"You're going out the door, and you're doing CPR on somebody who you did twice on the day before," Woiden said. "People stop looking like human beings."