In an effort to get better emergency care to rural and northern areas of Manitoba, the provincial government announced today they were introducing advanced care paramedics to those areas.
In a release, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced there would be a total of 14 Clinical Service Leaders (CSLs) coming to Portage la Prairie, Flin Flon, Dauphin, Ashern, Neepawa, Swan River and Lac du Bonnet.
“We’re expanding the scope of paramedicine in the province, starting with clinical service leaders stationed in communities throughout rural and northern Manitoba,” said Asagwara. “The previous government denied paramedics the opportunity to enhance their training outside of Winnipeg. This is one step we’re taking to ensure that when there’s an emergency, a trained health-care professional can respond on site as quickly as possible.”
The provincial release explained that CSLs respond to medical emergencies in rapid response vehicles, and while they do not transport patients, their advanced training and skills provide more definitive pre-hospital care on the scene.
“The introduction of ACPs in rural Manitoba is a very exciting initiative that provides patients in more remote and less populated parts of the province with enhanced care before they get to a hospital, while helping our emergency response system to be more nimble and responsive at the same time,” said Scott Noble, executive director of emergency medical services operations, Shared Health. “Equally important is that this initiative supports paramedics who have told us about their long-standing desire to practise at this level and to have better opportunities for career advancement.”
The release also stated that this provides opportunities for advancement for paramedics in their career, which the province hopes will allow them to retain more people in that line of work.
