Marc-Antoine Deschamps, Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesperson said the emergency service is inundated with overdose calls and that they're working closely with OPH, Ottawa Police and the Opioid Prevention and Response Task Force to keep the number of overdoses to as few as possible.
A pilot program would allow paramedics to call a cab for patients with low-acuity ailments, like a twisted ankle or a cut needing stitches.The Ottawa Paramedic Service says offload delays at hospitals continue to cause Level Zero events, when no ambulances are available to respond to other calls. Ottawa paramedics are launching a pilot program to lean on taxis to help take some patients with less-urgent ailments to hospital, relieving some of the pressure on ambulances.
But Poirier's world is far from perfect, as paramedics often wait hours to offload patients at overburdened emergency rooms. Those delays are primarily responsible for so-called "Level Zero" events,"What keeps me up at night is we're not getting to that other patient," Poirier said. "The other patient's waiting in the community, which has necessitated us to look at other options and try to do that as safely as we can.
Pierre Poirier, paramedic chief for the Ottawa Paramedic Service, said a soon to-be launched pilot program will give some patients the option to call a taxi instead of being transported to the hospital in an ambulance.The pilot won't solve the ambulance crunch entirely, Poirier said, but it should help.
The taxi pilot is scheduled to run for six months, and paramedics will report the results back to committee next year. Poirier said they're now in final negotiations with taxi companies. Even if it doesn't, the service will move forward with the taxi pilot under its Mental Wellbeing Response Team for some calls involving mental health or substance abuse issues.
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