The chief of EssexWindsor EMS believes things have improved slightly since an emergency declaration last fall due to ambulance offload delays but pressures still remain.
Bruce Krauter says we're in a better state since the emergency declaration but we're still not out of the woods and have a long journey to get to the point of no code blacks.
The term code black is used to describe when there are no ambulances available to respond to emergency calls because paramedics are waiting at a hospital to offload the patient.
Krauter delivered a report to Essex County Council Wednesday to provide information on current pressures experienced by EssexWindsor EMS which includes people relying on emergency room visits as their primary source of health care.
The ambulance service predicts code red and code black volumes to remain steady in 2023 while call volumes this year will be slightly below the 61,389 calls received in 2022.
The projected call volume decline is being attributed to partnerships with the hospitals, the Windsor Essex Ontario Health Team and the use of the Mobile Integrated Health Community Paramedic Program, the Vulnerable Patient Navigator (VPN) Program and the Mental Health and Addictions Response Team.
The report details that the programs have had varying levels of success in aiding patients who use EMS over three times a year and finding ways to help them receive care through other options at home or within the community.
Krauter says they are trying to have people treated through alternate levels of care so they don't have to go to the emergency department as a first resort.
"We want to use the emergency department as a last resort when it is a true emergency," he says. "With these volumes and these projections, that's where I'm looking at how we can enhance the service or improve our service delivery, in a way of being more proactive instead of being reactive."
Krauter says the partnerships and programs are only one part of the health care system but it helps them be proactive in the delivery of EMS.
"With those community paramedic programs, we're partnered with so many health care systems within the OHT {Ontario Health Teams} that we're getting people care in their home or close to home so that they're not having to go to the emergency department, so that's one piece of it," he says.
Krauter says having proper health care systems in place is needed so that the emergency department is not the one-stop shop for all health care.
"That's one of my big mandates, one of my big pushes, that's why we declared an emergency locally and that is still in effect for code reds and blacks until we get rid of them. That's one of our biggest pieces but we can't do it alone, we have to do it together. This report shows how we are working together as a system on trying to eliminate those pressures," he adds.
In October of 2022, the County of Essex has declared a local emergency in response to ongoing Code Black delays faced by EMS in offloading patients at area hospitals due to at elevated emergency department demands.