WHEREAS the BC Ambulance Service lists its mission as providing high quality emergency medical services and lists its goal as providing high quality patient care; AND WHEREAS many small communities in British Columbia are considered remote and therefore standby ambulance attendants receive only 2.00 per hour as opposed to rural community ambulance attendants receiving 10.00 per hour: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that there be no distinction in the pay category of standby ambulance attendants in rural and remote communities, and that all areas of BC be entitled to equal service.
Ministry of Health The Province of British Columbia Province clearly recognizes the vital role paramedics play in ensuring patients throughout the Province receive timely and high quality care. Compensation for paramedics is a negotiated item in the collective agreement between the Ambulance Paramedics of British Columbia CUPE 873 and the Emergency Health Services Commission Service. In the 1990s, paramedics at remote stations received no compensation for being on-call. Now, they receive 2 an hour for carrying a pager and a minimum of four hours pay when they are sent out on a call. A negotiated distinction in pay categories exists for paramedics based on the shift they are working, not on the geographical location of the work. Paramedics working on a stand-by shift are paid 10 per hour to remain at the station during their scheduled shift. Paramedics working a call out pager shift are paid 2 per hour and are not obligated to remain at the station during that time. The Service is working with health authorities to see how they can integrate the day-to-day work of paramedics with other health care professionals to better serve communities and ensure meaningful work for paramedics. Additionally, local paramedics and management have been working together to attract qualified individuals to become paramedics in communities with staff shortages. The British Columbia Ambulance Service is a provincially operated ambulance service under the direction of the Emergency Health Services Commission and provides integrated, expert emergency medical care province-wide.
BC Ambulance Service It is important to note that prior to 2001, paramedics were not paid to be on-call unless they were paged to respond to a call. Now these paramedics receive 2.00 per hour to carry a pager in addition to receiving their hourly paramedic rate when they are called out. This staffing model is in place at stations that typically receive fewer than one ambulance call per day on average. Many paramedics working in remote areas are able to work at other jobs in the community in addition to being on-call for the BC Ambulance Service BCAS. The stand-by pay of 10.00 per hour requires paramedics to remain at the station, stand-by for the next ambulance call. This staffing model is in place at stations that have higher call volumes. Forcing a paramedic to remain at the station when there isnt work for them to do does not lend to job satisfaction and is not a good use of resources. Paramedics themselves have expressed concern about moving to this model in some communities as it would impact their other responsibilities. As you are likely aware, challenges recruiting and retaining paramedics is not a new issue. It is a complicated matter, and one that is not unique to BCAS as it is faced by the health care sector in remote and rural communities across the country. The BCAS is taking a multi-faceted approach to its present recruitment and retention challenges. A tremendous amount of time and effort is being spent by local and regional BCAS staff in communities with paramedic shortages reaching out to the community to attract qualified individuals to consider working with the BCAS. Across the province, the BCAS is spearheading discussions with community leaders, Health Authorities and the Ambulance Paramedics of BC CUPE 873 to develop and implement some short and long-term solutions to support recruitment and retention of paramedics. For example, they are working together to explore opportunities for integration work in which paramedics could apply their skills and knowledge to meet broader health needs of the community. The BCAS has identified that access to training has a significant influence on recruitment and retention. Opportunities for taking training closer into the communities is currently being explored. In addition to new approaches to training, there has been a considerable investment into the ongoing provision of clinical education. The Memorandum of Agreement, reached November 2004, included 1.5M in funding targeted to provide Primary Care Paramedic training over 20052006-20062007 to 156 students. To date, 130 students have capitalized on the opportunity, most of whom are based in remote or rural stations. The BCAS has made an investment of 6M in continuing education for paramedics in 20062007 for topics including resuscitationautomatic external defibrillators, pediatric education for pre-hospital professionals, orientation driving, occupational safety and health, and dispatch. The BCAS is further providing one-time funding for Emergency Medical Responder EMR Bridging courses that will see up to 124 employees benefit. EMR Bridging courses will bring people with Occupational First Aid up to the EMR level, which meets BCAS hiring prerequisites. The budget for the BCAS has risen more then fifty percent in the past five years, reaching 267 million this year 20062007, compared to the 20012002 budget for emergency health services of 176 million. Much of the budget increase has gone to increasing the number of paramedics and dispatchers, which have grown from 1,625 FTEs to 2,263 FTEs - an increase of 639 FTEs, or thirty-nine percent, between 2001 and today. We will identify and adopt innovative strategies to address the recruitment challenges while ensuring high quality and timely emergency medical services and the best use of taxpayers dollars.