Paramedics in Winnipeg say there are not enough ambulances in the city to handle increasing call volumes, which is putting patient safety at risk.
The paramedics union says there has been a 17 per cent increase in call volumes in the last five years.
Currently, there are 18 ambulances on the road 24-hours-a-day in Winnipeg, but the union says five more are needed to address safety issues.
"Lives are at risk because of this and unless we have an investment in the future, we're going to see this problem get worse," says Chris Broughton, president of MGEU Local 911, which represents paramedics.
The union says paramedics can take up to 25 minutes to get to a cardiac arrest call.
But Winnipeg's deputy fire chief says that response time is misleading since firefighters that are trained as paramedics often arrive at an emergency in under four minutes.
"They have defibrillation (equipment). They have the capabilities to sustain that life and provide quality intervention," says Ken Sim, deputy fire chief.
Sim says the city has also added four ambulances in the past four years.
The paramedics union says a backlog at hospitals like HSC is part of the problem with paramedics often stuck at facilities waiting for patients to be signed off.
Mayor Sam Katz says he doesn't think increasing the number of ambulances is the answer. Katz admitted, however, that paramedics are sometimes tied up at hospitals.
"When they take someone to the hospital they can be there for hours because they cannot leave until someone signs off and accepts that individual," says Katz. He says the city is working with the regional health authority to address the issue.
His main opponent in the civic election, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, says she believes more ambulances are needed.
"We have a crisis with not enough ambulances able to respond in a timely basis when someone is in desperate need," says Wasylycia-Leis.
The paramedics union says it's not looking to align themselves with any specific candidate, but believes the number of ambulances needs to be a key election issue.
"Why should we wait until someone is harmed or killed before we increased the resources to meet the needs," asks Chris Broughton.
The union points towards three deaths in the last three months related to ambulance wait times but officials did not give out more details.
The Fire-Paramedic Service says it's looking into it but couldn't confirm information.
Ken Sim says he's examining the number of ambulances on the road now and will consider adding to the fleet if it's shown that patient safety is being compromised.
The paramedics union has launched a website to gain feedback regarding the issue at:
- with a report from CTV's Karen Rocznik
