The Ontario Government has announced an expansion of the community role for paramedics, with a view to improving access to care for seniors and other patients with chronic conditions. The following press release and background information was released on January 21, 2014.
Ontario Expanding Community Role for Paramedics
Originally posted at http://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2014/01/ontario-expanding-community-role-for-paramedics.html
Community Paramedicine Programs Improving Access to Care for Seniors
Ontario is supporting the expansion of community paramedicine programs to improve access to home care and community support services for seniors and other patients with chronic conditions.
The province is investing $6 million to support the expansion and development of community paramedicine initiatives across the province. These programs allow paramedics to apply their training and skills beyond the traditional role of emergency response, and can include:
- Providing home visits to seniors known to call emergency services frequently, to provide a range of services such as ensuring they are taking their medications as prescribed.
- Educating seniors in their homes about chronic disease management and helping to connect them to local supports, such as Diabetes Education Teams.
- Helping refer patients to their local Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) so that they can be provided with appropriate home care services.
Community paramedicine programs will work with teams of health professionals, including Health Links, to co-ordinate care for individual patients with complex chronic conditions. These programs will help seniors and other patients to live independently, while helping to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital admissions.
Ensuring seniors and other high need patients can access the right care, at the right time, in the right place, supports Ontario"s Action Plan for Health Care. This is part of the Ontario government"s plan to invest in people, build modern infrastructure and support a dynamic and innovative business climate.
Quick Facts
- More than half of Ontario residents currently have access to community paramedicine programs in their communities.
- Approximately 13 community paramedicine programs are currently operating in Ontario.
- In 2014, 10 additional municipalities and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers are planning to implement community paramedicine initiatives.
- Expanding community paramedicine in Ontario was a key recommendation contained in Dr. Samir Sinha’s report, Living Longer, Living Well.
Backgrounder
Community Paramedicine in Ontario
Originally posted at http://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2014/01/community-paramedicine-in-ontario.html
Community Paramedicine allows paramedics to apply their training and skills beyond the traditional role of providing emergency response. Working in collaboration with other health care professionals, community paramedics provide services that help patients, like seniors with complex conditions, to live independently in their homes and communities.
These services can include:
- Proactive outreach and services to frequent 911 callers
- Chronic disease management and patient education
- Community CPR training
Many local Emergency Medical Services providers in Ontario and their health partners have implemented or are planning to implement community paramedicine initiatives to help seniors and other patients with chronic conditions manage their conditions better, stay healthy and reduce requests for 911 services.
Programs Across Ontario
There are currently 13 community paramedicine programs in Ontario covering half of Ontario's population. This includes programs in:
- Chatham- Kent
- Essex
- Grey Bruce
- Halton
- Hamilton
- Hastings
- Niagara
- Ottawa
- Renfrew
- Sudbury
- Thunder Bay
- Toronto
- York
In 2014, approximately 10 additional municipalities and Emergency Medical Services providers are planning to implement community paramedicine initiatives. This could increase the level of access to 80 per cent of the population once these new initiatives become operational.
Benefits of Community Paramedicine
Toronto's Community Referrals by Emergency Medical Services program focuses on paramedics referring at-risk patients to the Toronto Central CCAC. A six-month study of this program found that when paramedics responding to emergency calls referred patients to community services, there was a 50 per cent decrease in the number of repeated 911 calls and a 65 per cent decrease in the number of emergency department transports.