While overall calls are up compared to 2019, Nanaimo Fire Rescue is responding to approximately 25 per cent fewer calls than in the past. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

REALLOCATED TIME

Strategy shift allowing Nanaimo Fire Rescue to focus on serious calls, advanced training

Jun 10, 2020 | 5:49 AM

NANAIMO — Call-outs for Nanaimo Fire Rescue are dropping after a change to the way medical aid emergencies are handled.

In May 2018, the province shifted to a streamlined method handling emergency response calls, designed to better match resources to the needs of a patient.

As a result of the change, Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews have responded to 41 per cent fewer medical aid calls between Jan.1 and Mar. 15, 2020, than they did over the same time period in 2017 or 2018.

“We’re not being tied up at a low acuity call where we are waiting for ambulance to respond because they may have a longer response time or it’s not a priority incident for them,” Fire Chief Karen Fry told NanaimoNewsNOW. “We may not be going to a call where somebody has fallen and can’t get up.

With many lower-level medical calls being handled by other agencies, Fire Rescue crews know there’s a greater likelihood of calls being more severe.

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“The calls we are going to now really are ones that we can have a direct impact, ones where we can provide care to the patient, whether it’s CPR, an AED or administering naloxone,” Fry said.

An AED was used 11 times to date in 2020, compared to 24 through all of 2019. In the same time span, officers administered 18 doses of naloxone during 110 overdose-related calls.

Data from Nanaimo Fire Rescue shows total call-outs and medical aid calls through the first five months of the year.

Fry said the average medical aid call lasts 24 minutes and being able to reallocate much of that time to other tasks increases the overall quality of care through more advanced training.

“The fire service is so multi-dimensional. They have to know everything from hazardous materials to technical rescue to auto extrication to the bylaws surrounding burning to structure fires.”

Fry added her crews will undergo more training in 2020 to be able to provide advanced medical care, including measuring blood pressure, using traction to immobilize fractures and delivering pain management to provide relief.

They’re also devoting more time to community outreach, such as their door-to-door smoke detector program and resuming fire inspections following a pause due to COVID-19.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley