Temporary deal reached with B.C. paramedics to boost staffing

B.C. has reached a temporary deal with paramedics to address staffing shortages and ease wait times, especially in rural and remote communities.

The agreement, made between BC Emergency Health Services and the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C., includes doubled pay rates for overtime and recall shifts on evenings and weekends.

It also bumps "pager pay" rates paramedics receive when they're on call not responding to an emergency from $2 per hour to $12 per hour.

"The biggest thing was to make sure that we do everything we can to make sure people get an ambulance in their time of need or an emergency and that hasn't been happening," Troy Clifford, Ambulance Paramedics of BC president, told CTV News Vancouver.

"The short-term initiative that went on over the last year really haven't been significant enough to really see impacts."

The temporary agreement replaces an incentive launched in June that gave $100 per shift for local paramedics who committed to regular on-call shifts and for paramedics who took a two- to four-week placement in a remote community.

The paramedics' union believes these changes will make a difference for now, but says they're not a long-term fix. The union is looking for more competitive wages to recruit staff and fill vacancies.

Earlier this month, Clifford said the sector is "in the middle of an unprecedented staffing crisis." 

"Ambulances are sitting empty across the province, and we are seeing the effects of understaffing and poor wages now more than ever," he said when bargaining began on Oct. 3.

Last month, hundreds of job postings for paramedics were put online as part of an "expedited process" meant to fill front-line jobs. It appears a lack of human resources personnel at the Provincial Health Services Authority caused a delay that prevented hundreds of new positions from being filled. 

BC Emergency Health Services confirmed with CTV News Vancouver at the time it "agreed to a revised short-term provincial posting process to address current paramedic vacancies across the province in a timely manner…intended to expedite and streamline the hiring process."

Clifford previously acknowledged the hiring campaign, but said more work needs to be done to address burnout.

"The work environment is stressful and emotional even at the best of times, but with all these ambulances sitting empty, our response times have turned from minutes to hours – it’s heartbreaking," he said.

The interim measures announced Monday are expected to be in place until the end of the year or until a new contract is reached.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos