Our president Jason Linklater, alongside Paramedic Association of Manitoba director Rebecca Clifton, was featured in a May 17 Winnipeg Sun article by Dave Baxter in response to a $16 million paramedic training investment.
“Manitoba is still burning out paramedics due to short-staffing,” said Linklater. “If I have one piece of advice right now, it is to hire paramedics whenever and wherever you can get them, and offer incentives in areas where you are having difficulty recruiting.”
Recent new hires are just plugging huge holes as paramedics leave, so it’s not clear that progress is being made yet. MAHCP is committed to working with Shared Health and the Manitoba government to make sure they can meet the Budget 2024 commitment to add 90 paramedics, and Premier Kinew’s broader election commitment to add 200 more paramedics.
“Manitoba lost hundreds of paramedics in recent years in rural Manitoba, driving up response times for the life-saving services they provide. We don’t have updated staffing numbers, but anecdotally, we are hearing that paramedics are still just as stretched, and estimates still range anywhere from 150 to 200 vacancies across the province, or 30 to 40% depending on the area.”
As we cap off #2024AlliedHealthWeek, we move into #ParamedicWeek and what will undoubtedly be a busy May long weekend for our paramedics. Stay safe.