Saturday was a hectic day for Parkland Ambulance. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Hectic Paramedic

Parkland Ambulance called out 137 times on Saturday alone

Oct 31, 2022 | 3:00 PM

Weekends can often get very busy for paramedics in the Prince Albert area, but just the first day of the most recent weekend saw an impressive volume of calls. From the start of the weekend until 7 a.m. Sunday, Parkland Ambulance paramedics were called out 137 times.

That number of calls actually isn’t out of the ordinary for paramedics. It’s reflective of a reality in which they’re busier than ever on a regular basis.

“It’s probably what we might consider to be the new normal,” Director of Public Affairs Lyle Karasiuk said. “Our teams are incredibly busy here at Parkland Ambulance… When I first started some 35 years ago, a busy day for us would be five or eight ambulance responses. Our teams can do that before 10 in the morning quite easily.”

According to Karasiuk, paramedics are responding to more incidents in general, not only primary responses where they’re the first service called in (if someone falls and injures themselves, for example) but also for inter-facility transfers.

“Maybe people need to be seen by specialists or further diagnostic care at other hospitals, whether they be in Saskatoon, Regina, or other tertiary care centres,” Karasiuk said. “We’re constantly moving people around and doing our very, very best to care for them.”

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Karasiuk said an increased awareness of when to call an ambulance is part of the reason for increased calls, but not the only reason.

“While we still are experiencing those COVID times, we’re finding now that services have been rationed a little bit more,” he said. “Specific services that might be available in two communities, due to staffing, due to equipment, due to other resources that are beyond our control as paramedics, now they’re saying they’re only available in this location.”

Another thing Karasiuk noted is their area of work takes them well beyond Prince Albert, which might account for an increase in call volumes as well. Of the province’s ambulance response districts, Karasiuk said they have the third largest area to cover and are also the third busiest.

“We’re seeing lots of sick people, lots of people who might just need a little tender loving care from our paramedics,” Karasiuk said. “We’re more than happy to support that as we certainly do our best.”

Karasiuk added he didn’t have the numbers for Sunday yet, but he remembered Sunday being a similarly busy day.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP