EMTs require nine weeks of training compared to the 50 weeks it takes to become a paramedic. They will be allowed back into ambulances for the first time since they were deemed to need more training in 2007, but will have a more limited role. Beginning in early 2023, ambulances transporting people to medical appointments or home from surgery will be staffed by one paramedic and one EMT instead of two paramedics. These units will perform “low-acuity, non-urgent transports”, according to the Ministry of Health. “Given the shortage of healthcare professionals that exists in all jurisdictions, including paramedics, EMTs are being reintroduced to bolster [Ambulance New Brunswick’s] workforce,” said department spokesman Adam Bowie. Medavie’s new EMT training program will begin this fall. It involves seven weeks of classroom training followed by a two-week internship. The move is part of New Brunswick’s new health care plan aimed at reducing wait times and increasing access to primary care. The first EMTs to go through the training will be ready to work around January and will be used immediately to fill 24 jobs, said Derek Casista, president of the New Brunswick Paramedic Association. “Twelve weeks from the start of training, these people will be in uniform, oriented to the paramedic system and hired,” he said.
What is a non-emergency transport?
Cassista said there are two ways to use the ambulances. The first is for emergency transport, when someone calls 911. The second is through a non-emergency line, where operators of long-term care homes, for example, can schedule an ambulance to take residents to medical appointments. Non-emergency units also transport people after surgery. Those transfers aren’t what paramedics should be doing, according to Cassista. “There is a clear design flaw and misuse of resources there,” he said. Ideally, EMTs should be solely responsible for non-emergency transports, without paramedic involvement, Cassista said. “We need to redesign the way we transport these types of patients. We shouldn’t be using ambulances, we shouldn’t be using paramedics,” he said. “Why don’t we use a smaller bus-type vehicle to move these types of patients? And an EMT is the perfect candidate to do that.” Bowie said if a patient’s condition worsens during a non-emergency transport “the EMT will be paired with a paramedic who can apply their highest scope of practice and skill level to treat the patient.”
No emergency replacement
New Brunswick hasn’t had any EMTs working since 2007, Cassista said. That year, the system was standardized to require paramedic training as “the minimum standard of care” in ambulances, Bowie said. Cassista said the EMTs working then either went back to school to become paramedics or found other jobs. He said as the EMTs return next year, the association is making sure they work exclusively on non-emergency calls. “We do not support the use of EMTs as a replacement for paramedic-level care in the emergency system,” he said.
