Toronto Paramedic Association

10/06/2026

DRONES TO DELIVER LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT TO EMERGENCIES IN BOLTON AS PART OF PEEL PILOT

Drones in the sky may be first to respond when residents in Bolton, Ont., call 9-1-1 as part of a new pilot program aimed at getting potentially life-saving equipment to the scene while paramedics are on their way.

The medical drone pilot program, launched Tuesday by Peel Regional Paramedic Services, will operate during daylight hours. Its goal is to improve patient care in communities, particularly rural ones, according to the services' chief Brian Gibson.

"We know that when there's a cardiac arrest in the community, that distance and traffic may be a barrier to getting paramedics to the scene quickly," Gibson said Tuesday.

"By enabling a drone to carry an external defibrillator, or a naloxone kit for an opioid overdose, or an EpiPen for an allergic reaction, we may be able to get those critical supplies to a patient quickly in order to improve their outcomes and ultimately save lives."

DRONES WON'T REPLACE PARAMEDICS, CHIEF SAYS

Gibson said the drones will not replace paramedics, who will be on their way after residents call 9-1-1. Paramedics or emergency dispatchers will talk to callers over the phone, guiding them on how to access and use the equipment until paramedics arrive, he said.

PILOT WILL BE EVALUATED TO SEE IF IT CAN BE EXPANDED

Data from the pilot program will be used in research with the aim of improving survival rates in cardiac emergencies, Gibson said. Peel paramedics will evaluate the pilot program to see how it might be expanded across Ontario.

"We know that for every minute of cardiac arrest, there's a decrease of seven to 10 per cent of survival. Strengthening that chain of survival is important," Gibson said.

USE OF DRONES 'POTENTIALLY GAME-CHANGING,' EXPERT SAYS

Carmi Levy, a technology analyst and journalist based in London, Ont., said Tuesday the use of drones will make a "huge difference" in cases where time is of the essence.

This is a potentially game-changing use of advanced drone technology," Levy said.

By: Muriel Draaisma
CBC

10/05/2026

WATERLOO REGION EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES ARE 42 SECONDS FASTER, BUT ONE TOWNSHIP STILL WAITS MORE THAN 18 MINUTES

The response time for the highest priority medical emergency calls in Waterloo Region improved to eight minutes and 26 seconds in the first half of 2026 — 42 seconds faster than the same period in 2025.

Some of that change is likely due to the implementation of the new medical priority dispatch system (MPDS) triage tool rolled out in Waterloo Region last December, said John Riches, paramedic services chief, in an update to regional council earlier this month.

MPDS offers improved accuracy in assessing patient acuity, allowing for a more tailored response based on resource availability and prioritizing immediate life-threatening calls.

Response times improved in all but one of seven regional municipalities — in the Township of Wellesley, it took 18 minutes and 16 seconds, on average, to respond to the highest priority calls.

“We did see some concerning trends in the Township of Wellesley,” Riches noted.

Those plans include placing an ambulance in Linwood or Wellesley Village to help reduce response times.

There were no Code Zero events — instances when only one or no ambulance is available to respond to a call in a coverage area — during the first half of this year.

Ambulance off-load delays at local hospitals have “plateaued” following several years of significant decreases, Riches said.

There were 83 ambulance days lost due to off-loading during the first six months of 2026 compared to 92 for the same period in 2025. However, those numbers are in stark contrast to the 601 ambulance days lost in 2022.

The total number of vehicle responses (39,934) increased by 7.3 per cent (2,714) during the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2025, which is almost three per cent higher than growth projections, Riches noted.

Unit utilization, a statistic that ultimately tracks how busy ambulances are, is the healthiest it has been in years, Riches added.

By: Bill Jackson
WATERLOO REGION RECORD

10/04/2026

ORNGE DONATES AMBULANCE TO PARAMEDIC PROGRAM AT CONFEDERATION COLLEGE

Ornge, the not-for-profit ambulance service, has donated a decommissioned ambulance to Confederation College’s Primary Care Paramedic program.

Going forward, students on their way to a career in paramedicine will be able to train in a modern, up-to-date vehicle.

Rob Plummer, the coordinator for the paramedic program at the college, says the decommissioned ambulance is “a critical central piece to our program, that brings the level of our training up very, very high.”

Previously the program relied on an older ambulance that was already at the end of its service life.

“It was like a hand-me-down sort of thing. We were happy to have it, it helped for a number of years, but it got to the point where it’s no longer viable as a training vehicle,” says Plummer.

For Plummer, being able to use a physical ambulance makes a big difference compared to simply learning theory in the classroom.

“In the classroom you can discuss concepts, but you can never actually discuss the actual tactile,” he says. “By getting them into the ambulance, the front and back, loading, unloading into a real vehicle, driving it, feeling how it performs; it’s the G-force, it’s the ranges of where it starts to get a little bit tippy, it’s stopping ranges, are really critical for them to make that transition out onto the workforce. Because it makes them a lot safer.”

He adds that the new ambulance is state-of-the-art, with a hydraulic stretcher and conventional dimensions, offering students a more transferable skillset to the equipment they’ll be using in the field.

The paramedic program’s new ambulance will be used by about 60 or 65 students this year.

“As long as we have this ambulance — and we’re going to look after it and make sure we have it for at least a decade or more — there will be hundreds of students that will have access to this as part of their training,” says Shane Strickland, Associate Vice President, Academic for the college.

By: Sam Goldstein
Your SUNSETCOUNTRY

10/03/2026

AND THE NORTH CITY PARAMEDIC CONTEST WINNERS ARE...

Every day, paramedics show up for our communities when they’re needed most. Your compassion and dedication to caring for others do not go unnoticed.

As a gesture of our appreciation, North City Insurance Brokers is proud to recognize five OPA members (from chapters across Ontario) with a $100 Amazon gift card.

To all Ontario paramedics and support staff, thank you for the important work you do and the difference you make in the communities you serve every day.

Your dedication, professionalism, and compassion make a difference every single day. As a small token of our appreciation, North City Insurance Brokers is giving back to the Ontario Paramedic community. 5 lucky OPA Members will each receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card!No entry required. Every OPA Member...

10/03/2026

EXPANDED MEDICAL CLINIC IN VERMILION BAY COULD HOUSE NEW PARAMEDIC BASE

MACHIN — A potential new and larger clinic in Vermilion Bay may also be the home of another paramedic base for the region.

The Township of Machin wants to build a larger health centre, with the current one too small to meet all the municipality’s needs, said chief administrative officer Max Nagy.

The Highway 17 community is made up of three settlements — Vermilion Bay, Eagle River and Minnitaki — all on or near Eagle Lake between Dryden and Kenora.

“We're extremely lucky to have the clinic that we have,” Nagy said. “Everybody there is just absolutely fantastic, we're so lucky to have it in our community, but obviously, as you grow a little bit and especially with COVID, there's a little bit more restraints that were put on the clinic.”

“There were some issues that arose and we realized that we do need to expand that current facility.”

They’re also hoping to attach a paramedic base to the proposed facility, Nagy said. Currently, there is no paramedic base in Machin itself, but the Kenora District Services Board, or KDSB, (which operates Northwest EMS) is studying the possibility of expanding there.

“The KDSB is exploring the creation of a Machin paramedic base to improve rural and unincorporated area response times,” the services board said in its 2025 annual report.

The paramedic service currently has two bases in Kenora and one each in Dryden, Ear Falls, Ignace, Nestor Falls, Pickle Lake, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout and Sioux Narrows, according to the KDSB’s website.

Currently, Machin and the surrounding area is served by paramedics called from Dryden or Kenora, Nagy said.

Nagy said the municipality has purchased some land on Spruce Street, just off Highway 17 in Vermilion Bay for the proposed facility. The township owns the current clinic building with health services provided through the Points North Family Health Team and the province’s rural and northern physician group agreement, he said.

“We're creating a proposal for this joint facility to take to the government to see how we can make this a possibility,” Nagy said.

By: Matt Prokochuk
NWOnewswatch

10/03/2026

EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING EXERCISE HELD AT BILLY BISHOP AIRPORT

If you were near Billy Bishop Airport last Saturday, you likely saw emergency crews taking part in a full-scale training drill to test emergency response procedures.

By: CityNews Everywhere

10/02/2026

SUPERIOR NORTH PARAMEDICS GETS $750K BOOST IN PROVINCIAL FUNDING

THUNDER BAY — An additional $749,551 in annual funding from the province is good news for Superior North paramedics, the regional ambulance and paramedic service’s chief said Thursday.

“It’s an increase … and we’ll put it to good use,” Shane Muir told Newswatch.

The annual land ambulance service grant “supports paramedic staffing, ambulance operations, medical equipment, facilities and other resources to help meet growing demand across Thunder Bay and the surrounding municipalities and communities,” a news release from the City of Thunder Bay said.

This year’s grant is $20.59 million, about 3.6 per cent more than last year.

The city operates Superior North EMS, which has four 24-hour-a-day stations in Thunder Bay and stations in 13 other communities including Upsala to the west, Armstrong to the north and Longlac and Manitouwadge to the east.

Its Schreiber and Terrace Bay stations will be merged into one station with three drive-through ambulance bays and modern amenities at 1006 Highway 17 in Terrace Bay.

Thunder Bay-based RML Contracting has been chosen as the project’s general contractor.

“This funding helps us maintain frontline coverage, respond to increasing demand and ensure paramedics have the vehicles, equipment and resources needed to deliver safe, high-quality patient care,” Muir is quoted as saying in the city’s release.

“As our communities continue to grow, strong emergency medical services remain essential to community well-being and quality of life.”

By: Mike Stimpson
SNnewswatch

10/01/2026

GREY COUNTY RECEIVES PARAMEDIC FUNDING BOOST

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Paul Vickers recently announced that the government is increasing paramedic funding by 10 per cent. The increase means the province, this year, is investing $11,510,760 in local paramedic services.

“Ensuring paramedics can spend less time waiting at hospitals and more time responding to emergencies is critical for the safety of families across Grey County. This investment will help strengthen our local ambulance services and make sure our paramedics have the resources they need to provide timely, high-quality care,” said Vickers in a news release.

The news release from Vickers noted that the increase in base funding helps ensure municipalities address increased costs so they can continue to deliver high-quality emergency care.

This investment is part of the more than $1 billion in land ambulance funding Ontario is providing municipalities across the province this year, representing an average increase of 9 per cent from 2025.

In addition, to further reduce delays paramedics encounter when arriving at hospitals to transfer patients, Ontario is investing $54,600 in Grey County through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program to hire nurses and other eligible health professionals dedicated to offloading ambulance patients in hospital emergency departments.

The program allows paramedics to get back out into the community faster and respond to their next 9-1-1 call sooner and has played a significant role in reducing offload times and increasing paramedic availability for 9-1-1 patients across the province. As a result of this investment and the collaboration between paramedics and hospital professionals, provincial ambulance offload time has been reduced by approximately 68 per cent since its peak in October 2022.

By: CollingwoodToday Staff

09/30/2026

ORO-MEDONTE & SIMCOE COUNTY TEAM UP FOR IMPROVED PARAMEDIC COVERAGE

The Township of Oro-Medonte and the County of Simcoe are pleased to begin a new partnership effective Sept. 16, 2026, which will add a County of Simcoe Paramedic Services ambulance in Oro-Medonte Station No. 2 located in East Oro, at 529 Line 11 N.

This agreement is aimed at providing an improved level of service and response to residents and visitors along the south side of the municipality.

The partnership will enhance collaboration between the two services and further lower response times for medical related emergencies.

Mayor Randy Greenlaw commented that, “by working together, this important partnership shares resources and strengthens emergency response, ensuring residents and visitors to Oro-Medonte receive timely, dependable care when they need it the most. This partnership is about providing a safer, stronger community for everyone.”

Roree Payment, director, commented that, “this is a very exciting partnership that focuses on providing the best service possible for the end user, and will undoubtedly be a great partnership for years to come.”

The township looks forward to improved service delivery and expects a very positive partnership well into the future.

By: BarrieToday Staff

09/29/2026

DIVERTING INTOXICATED PEOPLE FROM EMERG TO RECOVERY PROGRAM ‘TRANSFORMATIVE’: STUDY

TORONTO -- A new study suggests diverting intoxicated people from emergency rooms to a safe recovery space can help free up valuable health care resources and offer more suitable care.

The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health this week, evaluated the first two years of a non-medical Stabilization and Connection Centre in Toronto launched in 2022.

The centre was created to redirect people who are intoxicated by alcohol or opioids and don’t require medical attention from the ER to a 10-bed facility with support workers.

The University Health Network program partners with The Neighbourhood Group Community Services and Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, who staff the site.

The study said paramedics were on site for a mean of about seven minutes, compared to more than 34 minutes at two nearby ERs.

One of the centre’s founders Dr. Andrew Boozary said that means paramedics were back on the streets much faster.

Less than seven per cent of patients were transferred to hospital from the stabilization centre, which Boozary said shows this approach is safe and catching the people who need it.

More than half of the centre’s 4,500 visits were among people who were homeless. Many were referred to homeless services and substance use care by staff at the site.

“The status quo wasn’t working for the way the system was responding to many of the alcohol intoxication and opioid overdoses, especially for people who are experiencing homelessness,” Boozary said.

Dr. Kate Hayman, medical director of the emergency department at Toronto General Hospital, said the impact of diverting patients who are medically stable from the ER is “transformative.”

“Every person who had an admission to the SCC would have been a patient admitted to our ED,” Hayman said.

That amounts to about six less people per day in the ER who each would have spent four or five hours there, she said.

“It enabled us to provide more focused care for people with other kinds of emergencies, strokes, heart attacks,” Hayman said.

By: The Canadian Press
CTV NEWS