Ontario Investing Over $450,000 For Hiring Staff to Address Ambulance Offload Times at PRHC

The Ontario Government is investing $450,683 to support fast ambulance response and turnaround times for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

Warden J. Murray Jones (left), Chief Randy Mellow (middle) and MPP Dave Smith (right) during Jones’s final days as warden before retiring from a 24-year political tenure. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

This is part of the province’s ‘Plan to Stay Open: Health System Stability and Recover’ where $16.1 million is being invested in 20 communities across the province through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program.

This results in more hired additional nurses and health care workers including paramedics, respiratory therapists and physician assistants, who are dedicated to offloading ambulance patients to receive care in emergency departments according to the press release.

“Too often, ambulances are stuck at PRHC caring for patients when they should be out on service calls throughout the community,” MPP Dave Smith said. “This funding will help ensure that Peterborough Paramedics are where they belong, helping those who need it, when they need it.”

In addition to this $16.1 million, Ontario is investing an additional $7 million in the program for 2022–23 as announced in the 2022 Ontario Budget: Ontario’s Plan to Build.

“As a recipient community of offload delay funding for years, we are pleased that this funding will continue in our community and pleased to see that the Province is expanding to include other hospitals and communities,” said Warden J. Murray Jones. “This additional funding will expand the program to new municipalities while providing additional support to previously funded communities where this program has already been regarded as a success.”

“Peterborough County-City Paramedics have worked closely with PRHC for years identifying and implementing strategies to assist with systemic offload delays,” said Chief Randy Mellow. “The continuance of this funding is critical to our entities and our community.”

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