The City of Ottawa’s plans to put some non-urgent patients in taxis has been blocked by Ontario’s Ministry of Health, leaving paramedics with one less option to deal with backed-up emergency rooms.
Paramedic chief Pierre Poirier broke the news in a memo to councillors on Monday, explaining that “the pilot was and is dependent” on the province’s approval.
Paramedics would assess patients and send those with less serious injuries — like twisted ankles or cuts requiring stitches — to hospital in a taxi.
That eliminates the need for paramedics to wait hours at emergency rooms to offload those patients.
“Specifically, they did not approve the use of 911 paramedics to co-ordinate alternate transportation options to the emergency department/hospital, including taxi services,” Poirier wrote.
The decision cited by Poirier came from Susan Picarello, an assistant deputy minister, who suggested in a letter that the city could move ahead if it co-ordinates its approach with the dispatch centre.
The Niagara region has successfully run a similar program for years, providing 911 callers with the option to take a taxi to a hospital or walk-in clinic. Until recently, Ottawa has not had the required next-generation dispatch system.
Councillor calls on province to step up
Coun. Riley Brockington, who chairs the emergency and protective services committee, said the program is important given how serious hospital backlogs have become.
In the last budget, council upped its paramedic hires last year in order to alleviate the pressure.
“The taxi program was directly linked to freeing up ambulances,” said Brockington.
“Our paramedic service has been, over the many years I’ve been on council, trying to find innovative ways to tackle the level zero situation that we experience in Ottawa when there are no available paramedics on the road.”
WATCH | Why Ottawa’s paramedic service wants to rely on taxis to transport some patients:
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 Ottawa Paramedic Service had originally aimed to get this pilot running for Nov. 1, 2023, but Poirier said his team is not giving up.
“I can confirm that staff continue to explore other options, including the use of community paramedics, to provide care and appropriate transportation (including the use of a taxi) of patients to the hospital,” he wrote in his memo.
Brockington said the final fix has to come from the province.
“Backlog in the hospitals is really only going to be solved when the Ministry of Health provides additional funding to hospitals,” he said. “The periods of level zero, the frequency of level zero is unacceptable. The average wait time for patients to be seen in ERs in Ottawa is also unacceptable.”
CBC contacted the Ministry of Health for an explanation of its recent decision, but has so far not received a response.