At the second-to-last Let’s Talk, representatives of the BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) admitted that the model being used in Tumbler Ridge wasn’t working properly.
That was this spring. Now, BCEHS has announced that, rather than create a new model, rural communities would be receiving an upgrade.
The announcement affects residents of 60 rural and remote communities across the province, including Tumbler Ridge.
According to BCEHS, “The Province has accepted recommendations brought forward by BCEHS and the Ambulance Paramedics and Ambulance Dispatchers of BC (APADBC) about the phasing out of the existing Scheduled On-call (SOC) staffing model towards one of three models that will better meet the specific staffing needs of individual communities.”
In the case of Tumbler Ridge, it will mean moving to an Alpha model. That means on-duty paramedics 24/7.
Tumbler Ridge moved to the SOC model in 2021.
In an SOC system, paramedics are scheduled for a certain number of hours per day—say, eight or ten—for three days. During that time, they are at the station or with the ambulance, always ready to go during the time they are scheduled. During the off hours, they carry the pager and are ready to respond to calls during that time. This meant the station was only officially occupied eight to ten hours a day, or about one third of the time.
Before that, the station was a kilo station, which meant that ambulance attendants were on-call the entire day, receiving a small stipend to be on-call, but only being paid once they were called out.
This meant that paramedics had to work without a guarantee of regular pay.
In the SOC model, there was a guarantee of regular pay, but it left the station unattended for most of the day, or rather, night.
Tumbler Ridge averages about 400 ambulance calls—slightly more than one per day—on average.
Chetwynd, which was also an on-call station, became an Alpha station in 2021.
At the time, there was a worry that would draw people away from Tumbler Ridge, which it did.
The move means that the SOC staffing model will be phased out over the next few months.
Moving to an Alpha station will mean eight full time employees at the Tumbler Ridge station, up from the current four. One local paramedic has spent the last couple years working in Chetwynd. He’s looking forward to coming back home.
In addition to the Alpha model, which will affect Tumbler Ridge and 20 other communities, 25 communities are moving to a “mix shift” model, which will provide staff with more flexibility and better work/life balance. “Communities moving to this model will have staff on-duty in the station twice as often as they do currently,” says BCEHS.
And 14 communities are moving to a “Kilo” model with a full-time permanent unit chief, “which will offer more flexible staffing options to maximize local recruitment,” says BCEHS.
When Tumbler Ridge was a Kilo station, pay was $2/hour to carry the pager, but that has been bumped up to $12/hour.
In addition, 55.2 full-time equivalent (FTE) community paramedics will be dedicated to providing community-based care and community outreach.
All in all, there will be 239.5 FTE job positions created.
“BCEHS and APADBC have worked closely together to determine the best staffing model for each of the 60 communities and to bring forward recommendations to the Ministry of Health,” says BCEHS. “This work included engagement with staff, the communities, First Nations leaders, health authorities and the APADBC. BCEHS will continue working closely with partners to address future needs of communities and make changes as needed.”
These changes mean that ambulances will be available to support routine transfers in the late afternoon and evenings as needed.
It also means that paramedics will no longer need to be on call for 72 straight hours, as required in the SOC model. This means paramedics will have a better work/life balance.
In addition to Tumbler Ridge, other northern communities transitioning to Alpha station status include: Mackenzie, Bella Coola, McBride, Dease Lake, Fraser Lake and Masset. There are 21 new Alpha stations total.
Stations with the Mix Shift model means staff will have eight regular part-time staff in the stations, and staff will be on-duty in the station for 16 hours each day with eight hours on-call. This includes communities like Bella Bella, Anahim Lake, Granisle and Hudson’s Hope.
Finally, new Kilo stations includes Wells, Stewart, Kitwanga and Atlin.
Since 2017, the province has increased the BCEHS annual operating budget from approximately $424 million to $766 million in 2022/23. This means over half of paramedics (59 percent) now have regular permanent positions. In 2017, that number was 39 percent.
In the last three years, BCEHS has added 77 ground ambulances and five dedicated air ambulances.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.