An increasing number of medical calls on Gabriola Island are involving more resources from local firefighters, due in part to a staffing model for B.C. paramedics. (submitted photo/Damon James)

By Alex Rawnsley

burden of care

Gabriola firefighters ‘forced into the position’ of paramedic duties due to staffing model

Aug 26, 2022 | 4:56 PM

GABRIOLA ISLAND — A seemingly endless run of medical calls being handled by local fire crews is further highlighting the need for additional care for Island residents.

One recent case involved a patient hemorrhaging just before 9 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21. Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department crews attended, but due to a lack of available paramedics, volunteer firefighters picked up an ambulance and transported the patient via ferry to Nanaimo.

Fire chief Will Sprogis said it’s not the job of the department’s 34 members to provide the level of care which is being asked of them, but they do it to ensure the safety of people on Gabriola.

“Our primary focus is fire suppression, fire prevention. If we are going to a medical call, we should just be in the position where we’re just providing the initial support until ambulance arrives to take over patient care with a higher level of care.”

Issues for the department began in August 2021 when BC Emergency Health Services (BC EHS) implemented a new Scheduled On Call, or SOC, model for its members in some communities.

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It means there isn’t always a complement of paramedics staffing the Church St. ambulance station.

According to Sprogis, there are four members covered under the BC EHS on-call program, with another two community paramedics conducting non-emergency home visits. Another four members are working on a casual basis.

A spokesperson for BC EHS previously told NanaimoNewsNOW the new staffing model provides care 24 hours a day for residents on Island.

“Paramedics have guaranteed hours during the day and are on-call during the evenings as part of their regular positions and schedule to respond to any 9-1-1 events,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

However, despite the 24-hour coverage, the model has been linked to several delays for service over the last 12 months.

Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department members have been kept extremely busy over the last 12 months, doing more duties outside their main responsibilities. (submitted photo/Damon James)

Response from paramedics was delayed nearly 10 minutes during a September 2021 stroke call on Island because the shift for paramedics didn’t start until 8 a.m.

Gabriola firefighters were on scene and worked with the patient until paramedics arrived.

“After that (SOC) model was released we started driving the ambulance, or forced into the position where we’d need to drive that ambulance, because critical injuries and people were getting delayed ambulance response, or were waiting for an ambulance to come from Nanaimo,” Sprogis said.

Devoting resources to a sometimes hours-long round trip to and from Nanaimo reduces what’s available to fight fires or tend to other calls on Gabriola.

“They could get stuck in Nanaimo waiting for an ambulance as well because there isn’t always an ambulance available on the Nanaimo side, it’s really a shot in the dark when we send a crew over there. They could end up having to take the ambulance all the way to Nanaimo general (hospital).”

Also, special licensing is required to drive an ambulance with members taking it upon themselves to upgrade to, or maintain a class one, two or four license.

Sprogis said returning to a pre-August 2021 model isn’t the answer as paramedics were working too many hours for too little pay.

But, light is perhaps at the end of the tunnel.

Discussions between firefighters and paramedics on Island have worked their way up the chain and Sprogis believes Gabriola may follow in the footsteps of other like-sized communities in receiving extra resources.

“We’ve been working hard with the great paramedics on the Island, the unit chief and hit the next level of management. We’re just getting hints it might be coming down. A similar ambulance station to Gabriola, which would be Lake Cowichan, just got a full-time staff in around March or April.”

For now, Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department members continue to do their part to increase the quality of care they can provide.

Additional training for members is coming to upgrade their response level to EMR, or emergency medical responder.

It will allow them to carry additional diagnostic tools to provide better first care and relay more detailed information to paramedics and hospitals.

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alex@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley