Whereas many remote and rural municipalities experience a shortage of qualified ambulance staff and this puts these municipalities in danger of not having the service when they need it the most; And whereas many rural ambulance stations only provide on-call coverage with no guaranteed shifts for staff and the on-call rate of 2 per hour is not a sufficient rate for paramedics to make the income needed to be self-sufficient: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call on the BC government to work with the provincial bargaining body and BC Ambulance Service in the next round of provincial collective agreement bargaining to ensure that BC Ambulance Service staff have on-call rates of pay comparable with other health science professionals, e.g. lab technologists, radiation technologists, and nurses.
Ministry of Health Government is interested in supporting paramedics and the services they provide, including in rural and remote areas. Standby wages are an important issue, however, they are a collective bargaining matter and need to be discussed through that process by the employer and the union. The Labour Relations Board notified that a standalone bargaining unit came into effect on January 18, 2018, for the Ambulance Paramedics of British Columbia CUPE Local 873, the union representing the more than 3,600 paramedics and dispatchers in British Columbia. This will help to ensure a strong voice for paramedics and also support patient care, with a focus on key areas such as response times, rural and remote staffing, and innovative ways of treating patients with non-emergency injuries and illnesses. The Ministry of Health is working closely with BC Emergency Health Services, health authorities, the Ambulance Paramedics of BC CUPE Local 873, and others to successfully implement British Columbias first Community Paramedicine Initiative. In BC, community paramedicine is intended primarily for rural and remote communities. The program objectives are to help stabilize paramedic staffing in these communities, and bridge health service delivery gaps identified in collaboration with local health care teams. The Community Paramedicine Initiaive was launched in April 2015 with three prototype community projects in Northern Health. This was followed with two in Interior Health and four in Island Health. The provincial rollout began in late April 2016 with the announcement of 76 communities.