Boosting Emergency Care in Niagara
- July 2004
- Français
For Niagara residents, the vision of Advanced Care Paramedics 24/7 ‘as seen on TV' is one step closer to reality, when a new training program partnering the Niagara Health System and Niagara College starts up in September.
Currently, about two-thirds of all ambulances on duty in Niagara are staffed with one Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP), who has received medical training which allows him/her to perform treatments such as intubation, starting and maintaining IV's, drug administration, and a host of other procedures.
"Our goal and the goal of the Region is to have an ACP on every single ambulance on every shift," says Dr. Doug Munkley, Medical Director of the Niagara Health System's Base Hospital, located at Greater Niagara General Hospital Site. "We currently have about 60 ACP's and we need 90 to provide full coverage to the region. We are going to be working with Niagara College to train up to a level to cover every shift."
Niagara College and the NHS are now finalizing plans to offer a dedicated training program, which would see 16 Primary Care Paramedics attend school part-time over 12 months, once they pass the entrance exam. A classroom portion will be followed by clinical education and the ACP students will do rotation at Greater Niagara General and Welland Hospital Sites, working not only in Emergency Departments, but in OR's, Outpatient surgery, Intensive Care Units and even Obstetrics to gain practical skills and knowledge. "Niagara has been a leader in pre-hospital care, and we are building on that success with this new initiative," says Dr. Munkley. "We were first in Ontario with the defibrillator program in the 1980's, and we continued to lead the way with the Ontario Pre-hospital Advanced Life Support (OPALS) Study, a special research project aimed at upgrading paramedic services in the 1990's."
There is currently no Region in Ontario with an ACP on every ambulance, although several areas have that goal in mind. "I know the Niagara Paramedic Association is very supportive of the ACP program," says Dr. Munkley. "Their members are our potential students and they support a local solution. They are very encouraged to have this training alternative. This means the students don't have to leave their jobs or Niagara to advance."
Base Hospital will be providing the clinical and internship training. "We have a lot of experience in this area," says Dr. Munkley, who in addition to being a busy Emergency Physician at Greater Niagara General Site and Base Hospital Medical Director, is also Medical Director of the new program. "I know that from past teaching paramedic programs, the medical and nursing staff members at both Welland and Niagara Falls hospitals are going to be very welcoming and supportive to the students. This is clearly one of the key strengths of our program."
Base Hospital
The NHS' Base Hospital is one of 22 Base Hospitals in Ontario, which provide medical direction, advice and leadership to Paramedics in emergency situations, primarily Advanced Life Support skills. "Most of their procedures are done by written protocols, however, in certain emergency situations, Paramedics must have an Emergency Physician's verbal approval to perform a procedure or administer a medication. In these cases, Paramedics call the Emergency Physician on duty at Greater Niagara General Hospital, and receive direction and approvals," says Dr. Munkley. "On average, we receive about four calls per day from paramedics delivering pre-hospital care. About 30 patients per day have medical procedures performed by Paramedics using written protocols."
"Giving our Primary Care Paramedics an opportunity to receive training locally is a real benefit to Niagara residents. It levels the playing field, so to speak, so that no matter whether you live in an urban or rural area in Niagara, your pre-hospital care will be the best it can be."