Skip to main content

Paramedic Services Week

 On May 25th, I spoke in response to a Ministerial Statement on Paramedic Services Week.  My remarks are below.  

Mr. Gerrard: Mr. Deputy Speaker, first and fore­most, a big thank you to all paramedics in Manitoba on this week, Paramedic Services Week, and indeed, on every week.

Paramedics do incredible work, often under very challenging circumstances. This is true for all para­medics, but is particularly true for paramedics work­ing in rural areas, where the longer distances mean more actively involvement in care during transport, and sporadic emergency room closures add to the problems.

      The development of community paramedicine has been positive, but it still has some way to go. For example, there is still no access to community paramedicine in Camperville, in spite of the need.

      There is a province-wide shortage of paramedics which has not been addressed, despite the present government having had seven years to act.

      Medicine, and in particular paramedicine, is not a static discipline. Treatments and supports, including social supports, are changing all the time, and ongoing continuing education and training is essential to pro­viding optimal help to individuals in difficulty. Training for work in rural areas has additional challenges.

      There are opportunities to improve, such as en­abling quicker handover of patients when para­medics arrive in emergency rooms and addressing com­munication gaps for existing communication systems in some rural areas. Better training in handling those who are elderly, especially those who have some level of dementia, is also im­por­tant, as many who are being transported and require special care are elderly.

      To sum it up: thank you, thank you, thank you, all paramedics in Manitoba. The work you do every day is essential. We thank you for your ability to be emer­gency respon­ders in very tragic and difficult circum­stances and we ap­pre­ciate your efforts.

      Merci. Miigwech. Thank you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Comparison between Manitoba and South Dakota shows dramatic impact of Physical Distancing

Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March.  South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory.   The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions.   This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14.  Manitoba ( red line )  started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then.   South Dakota ( blue line )   has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4.  Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations
18 comments
Read more

Pushing for safe consumption sites and safe supply to reduce overdose deaths

  On Monday June 20th, Thomas Linner of the Manitoba Health Coalition, Arlene Last-Kolb Regional Director of Moms Stop the Harm and Winnipeg City Councillor Sherri Rollins were at the Manitoba Legislature to advocate for better measures to reduce deaths from drug overdoses, most particularly for safe consumption sites and for a safe supply, measures which can reduce overdose deaths.  
Post a Comment
Read more

Manitoba Liberal accomplishments

  Examples of Manitoba Liberal accomplishments in the last three years Ensured that 2,000 Manitoba fishers were able to earn a living in 2020   (To see the full story click on this link ). Introduced a bill that includes retired teachers on the Pension Investment Board which governs their pension investments. Introduced amendments to ensure school aged children are included in childcare and early childhood education plans moving forward. Called for improvements in the management of the COVID pandemic: ·          We called for attention to personal care homes even before there was a single case in a personal care home. ·            We called for a rapid response team to address outbreaks in personal care homes months before the PCs acted.  ·          We called for a science-based approach to preparing schools to   improve ventilati...
Post a Comment
Read more