Following a program review, County Council has voted to discontinue the Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) Program effective immediately within the terms of the collective agreement. The total savings from the ACP Program is expected to be $177,000 per year, which will be reallocated to the Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) Program. The voted occurred at the eighth session of County Council on July 6th.
The decision was based on a service delivery review completed in 2013 by an independent consultant, Emergency Management & Training Inc. Since receiving this report, Council has been carefully considering how to best provide emergency medical services. In 2014, Council added another ambulance unit to the road fleet, increasing the response time of primary care paramedicine in Huron County.
Of the 87 paramedics employed by the county, this decision affects 14 individuals who are trained to administer ACP services. Providing an ACP Program is not mandatory in Ontario and the affected positions will now transition to become primary care paramedics.
“Access to health care is one of the most important issues in our communities,” said Warden Paul Gowing. “County Council has reinvested in primary care paramedicine so we can provide better emergency medical services to those who need it.”
Huron County Emergency Services is committed to helping our citizens by providing emergency response, communications and public safety education through professional leadership and teamwork. Our paramedics are dedicated to patient care and to continually improving their response times within the County of Huron.
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