Ottawa Paramedic Service
The Ottawa Paramedic Service operates in compliance with legislation and licensing standards overseen by the government of Ontario.
[4] Communicable diseases, mostly malaria, cholera, influenza, typhus and smallpox were common causing the religious community to ask Montreal Grey Nuns for assistance in establishing a permanent hospital in By-Town.
Many Irish immigrants in that year were escaping Great Famine of Ireland, and searching for work on the Rideau Canal.
Mother Bruyere and the sisters would remove the deceased to the graveyard at night and bury them so that the residents would not be alarmed by the devastation Ottawa's outbreaks caused.
It was written that police could use any for hire wagon to “assist in the conveyance of any person to hospital or elsewhere as may be required, who may be wounded or met with accident, or who may have been suddenly taken ill, provided the sickness is not infectious in nature, and such owner or driver shall be entitled after the performance of such service to the usual fare therefore from the proper authorities” This implies that any taxi, wagon, or cart was used by police to move patients around.
This method would have been most effective in the early years since officers patrolled the streets and would have been notified of any traumatic or accidental emergency.
In their first few years as a society, the scope included: “We believe it to be our duty bettering the lot of neglected children by urging legislation to provide foster homes; supervising the overhaul of Ottawa’s only ambulance; and stirring up the public conscience to the fair treatment of all animals..” In addition to their hand ambulance, they also became advocates for heroism and first aid resources.
The Ottawa Humane Society also raised funds to have large waterproof banners with resuscitation instructions and rescue buoys were put in the most frequent drowning sites.
Medical Health Board wrote to the council, “The time has arrived when the City should own and control such means of conveyance”.
Each year the City of Ottawa would ask for tenders to provide ambulance service for emergency calls excluding contagious disease cases.
This move was followed almost immediately by another when Louisa Street (and other nearby) residents were expropriated for the first Ottawa Urban Renewal Project – the building of the Queen Elizabeth Way (the 'Queensway' or Highway 417).
Eric offered hospital bed delivery, home oxygen supplies, transfers, body removal and other medical equipment needs to citizens in order to offset the debt incurred by completing ambulance calls.
Eric Magladry created uniforms, codes and other protocols to provide a better standard of care for the citizens of Ottawa.
After seeing the need for more ambulance services, Gordon felt it was his moral responsibility to the general public to provide care and transportation for these patients.
Gordon hired a variety of employees, volunteer firefighters, orderlies at the hospitals, nurses and anyone else who expressed interest in the service.
He stated that police and fire departments would act as ambulances, passersby would remove patients and that 33% of all his medical calls were uncollectable.
This enabling legislation allowed the Minister of Health and that department the legal framework to begin the creation and assessment of the requirements for Ontario's ambulance response system.
The Act contained basic information to begin regulating ambulance services such as definitions of terms and levels of authority.
A transition that demanded better equipment, pay, standards of care and ensured proper ambulances would be used to transport patients instead of homemade vehicles.
Areas such as Orleans, Kanata, Osgoode, Richmond and Barrhaven expanded quickly and required better ambulance coverage.
Carleton Place-Richmond Ambulance Service: Richmond base opened in 1981 due to local pressure for better coverage.
Although once the hunt club bridge became operational, the Nepean post was closed and SLDAS took over the Queensway Carleton Hospital ambulance base.
The Ottawa EMS-SMU came into existence on January 1, 2001, when six separate agencies providing Ambulance and Paramedic care to the then Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton were amalgamated into one service.
Due primarily to local grassroots efforts (Action Paramedic led by the ACT Foundation),[11] political pressure and a research program called the Ontario Prehospital Advanced Life Support Studies (OPALS) Ottawa was the first center in Ontario to be selected to introduce fully trained Advanced Care Paramedics (ACP) as part of a Ministry of Health province-wide project.
Various Advanced Life Support (ALS) response programs had been developed and implemented with much less success over the past 40 years throughout Ontario.
Prior to then it was typically several services operating under a single communications radio network offering only primary care paramedic (PCP) level of treatment and response.
The service is a structured hierarchy with a clearly defined rank system conforming to a national and provincial paramedic visual identity.
1 Chief 4 Deputy Chiefs 12 Commanders 40 Superintendents (Operations, Clinical Training, Logistics, Communications, Professional Standards, Quality Review and Public Information) 70 Communications Officers 8 Administrative support personnel (including Quality Assurance/Improvement Clerks, Program Performance Analysts, Administrative Assistants and other non-uniformed personnel) 44 Equipment and Supply Technicians 1 Biomedical Engineer 12 Public Education Officers 440 Advanced and Primary Care Paramedics (sub-specialties of Marine, Tactical, USAR, CBRNE as well as others) 86 Paramedic Units (Type III) - Demers Ambulances Mystère MX160A (on Ford E-Series chassis), all equipped with Stryker Power Load 4 Special Response Units (Ford F Series/Demers Type 1) 1 Neonatal Transfer Unit (Type III with Stryker Power Load) 1 Bariatric Patient Vehicle (Modified Type III) 7 Supervisor Response Vehicles (Ford Explorer Police Interceptors) 18 Paramedic Response Units (Ford Taurus and Ford Explorer Police Interceptors) 2 Off Road Rescue Units (4x4 ASAP Units) 1 Treatment and Rehabilitation Unit (Nova Bus LFS) 2 Multi Patient Units 2 Emergency Shelter trailers 2 Multi-Casualty Incident (disaster supplies) trailers The Ottawa Paramedic Service has a research committee comprising front-line personnel leading, evaluating and directing what research the service will enter into and recommend with whom the service will partner in research Paramedicine in Canada Emergency Services in Ottawa
