How many paramedic vacancies were there in Airdrie last year?

Over a quarter of Primary and Advanced Care Paramedic positions in Airdrie were vacant in Airdrie in April 2023; the vacancy rate for primary care paramedics was the second-highest vacancy rate of any paramedical position last year in Airdrie and Calgary.

A chart shows the vacancy rates of both advanced care (ACP) and primary care paramedics (PCP) paramedics in Calgary, Airdrie, as well as the zones across Alberta. (Graphic credit to Alberta Health Services)

Documents requested via The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) from Alberta Health Services (AHS) show that Airdrie's lowest average vacancy rate occurred in January 2023; the lowest vacancy rate for Advanced Care Paramedics (ACP) for that year. Average overall vacancy rates in Airdrie exceeded Calgary's five times between December 2022 and December 2023.

However, from a provincial perspective, Alberta's North Zone experienced some of the highest vacancy rates in the entire province last year, with more than one-third of paramedic positions vacant in that area. The province's North Zone is geographically the largest in Alberta.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that due to the shortage of paramedics in the North Zone, AHS had queried Calgary zone paramedics if they'd be willing to deploy to the North Zone as a way to try and help fill the vacancies.

Previously, an AHS spokesperson wrote that there has been a 15.6 per cent increase in paramedics employed by AHS between December 2019 and October 30, 2023.

How much time did Airdrie ambulances spend at hospitals?

Airdrie-stationed ambulances still spent the majority of their time at Calgary-based health facilities last year. Calgary's Peter Lougheed Centre appears to be where Airdrie ambulances spend most of their time, with the longest destination hours in January 2023. 

A FOIP document showing the total amount of hours Airdrie-stationed ambulances spent at Calgary destinations (Graphic credit to Alberta Health Services)

In March 2023, AHS posted a clarification on what the 45-minute offload delay target meant.

"The Canadian standard for what’s known as EMS offload is 45 minutes. This 45-minute Canadian Standard is a target and will become the AHS standard as well. Having patients safely handed over to emergency department teams will reduce waiting time for EMS teams to help get ambulances and paramedics back into communities to be better able to respond to emergencies. Forty-five minutes is a target we will strive to achieve as we also continue to protect patient safety."

AHS also added that they were putting in place several supports to ensure that there are appropriate staff, equipment and spaces to take care of patients brought in by EMS. 

"AHS clinical teams and EMS are collaborating to put plans in place to support safely transferring patients to care teams at the sites. This transition will occur over several weeks beginning on March 15, 2023. The transition will be monitored to adjust processes in real-time, supporting the ongoing care of patients and staff providing the care."

While data shows that in the month following the announcement of the 45-minute offload target, there was a slight decrease in the total time Airdrie-station ambulances spent at Calgary transport destinations, December 2023 saw the second longest time that Airdrie ambulances spent at their transport destination since December of the previous year. 

A FOIP document showing the total amount of hours Airdrie-stationed ambulances spent at Airdrie destinations (Graphic credit to Alberta Health Services)

Responses outside of Airdrie and Calgary

FOIP documents also show that Airdrie-station ambulances responded to 1,077 9-1-1 events in communities outside of both Airdrie and Calgary in 2023. 75 events were deemed inter-facility transfers, while 45 were deemed as 'other'. In total, Airdrie ambulances responded to 1,196 calls in surrounding communities.

However, FOIP documents underlined that the data does not represent the response interval for events in the Calgary Zone nor does it represent the response interval for the events the Airdrie units responded to as there may have been non-Airdrie units that arrived on scene earlier.

"Airdrie units may or may not have been in Airdrie when responding to an event in the Calgary Zone."

Alpha calls totalled over 200, with an average response time of over 25 minutes, while the maximum average response time was nearly two and a half hours. Bravo responses totalled 182, with an average of nearly 20 minutes, while the longest time was recorded as two hours and 48 minutes.

Charlie calls totalled 230, while Delta calls, which are deemed as life-threatening were the most numerous, totalling 420. Echo calls, which are the most grave totalled at 19. 

FOIP documents show the mean, median, and maximum response time for some of the most life-threatening 9-1-1 calls that Airdrie ambulances responded to outside of Calgary and Airdrie. (Graphic Credit to Alberta Health Services)

Creation of EMS standing committee

Several months ago, the province announced the formation of a new standing committee, the EMS standing committee, which would, among other things, 'inform the [health] ministry's ongoing evaluation of the EMS system and provide recommendations for improvement across the workforce, system performance and standards.

"The committee will provide advice on all aspects of the system, including air ambulance, dispatch, ground ambulance and medical first response. Paramedics and representatives from EMS partner organizations, municipalities and Indigenous communities will be invited to sit on the committee."

There have been no updates from the province since late November 2023 on when the committee might begin its work. 

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