SUSAN LEBLANC: Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health and Wellness. We are in critical need of support for and investment in our emergency response infrastructure. We are seeing paramedics having to work 12- to 14-hour shifts, and have seen response times in the Central Zone jump from eight or nine minutes just a few years ago to 27 minutes now. Today’s budget responds to this crisis with a move towards single-paramedic response units, an initiative that has faced criticism from paramedics for putting patient and paramedic safety at risk.
Can the minister explain why today’s budget is so disconnected from the emergency care crisis that Nova Scotia’s health system is facing?
HON. MICHELLE THOMPSON: I would like to say that the SPEAR unit is actually a very innovative way to support people who don’t need emergency care. We know that there are some people who call 911 for a variety of reasons - most certainly because they need assistance. But the physicians in medical comms working with paramedics in the field have actually been able to support four out of ten individuals in community to be diverted away from the emergency room for the appropriate care (Inaudible) community. We are investing in primary health care, emergency services, workforce strategy, surgical access, cancer care, and patient flow. I don’t think any of those are disconnected from the health care of Nova Scotians.
SUSAN LEBLANC: We all know the challenges facing our province’s paramedics, and we know our emergency care system is at a breaking point. Paramedics are feeling left behind, and they are looking to the government for support to be able to continue in their profession: serving Nova Scotians. This budget saw an expansion of the More Opportunities for Skilled Trades tax rebate to certain health care workers and emergency medical care, but excluded paramedics entirely. In a time when we are facing unprecedented emergency response times, paramedic resignations and vacancies, and unsustainable working conditions, why is the government refusing to support and recognize the importance of the paramedics?
MICHELLE THOMPSON: I want to assure the member that we continue to invest in paramedics in the EHS system. We have invested $3.5 million in equipment to prevent injury. We’ve implemented double overtime for paramedics in recognition that they need to stay sometimes after their shifts. We’ve covered a benefit that was a great cost to paramedics, resulting in $2,500 more per year in their pockets. We offered them a $5,000 bonus. We have a workforce planning group that meets on a monthly basis to support paramedics. EMCI has a strategic working group made up of paramedics. We are very committed to paramedics in this province. We have actually asked the union to go back to the table so that we can - at a table - talk about the things that are important to paramedics, and give them the work-life balance they want.