York Region advances Paramedic Services Plan

September 23, 2024

Newmarket – York Regional Council received a progress update on the Paramedic Master Plan 2021 to 2031, York Region’s long-term plan identifying necessary resources to respond to growing community demands.

“York Region is committed to providing high-quality paramedic care to our residents,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson. “Advancements made in the Paramedic Services Master Plan demonstrate our dedication to meet growing demand and ensuring timely responses.”

Key achievements in the report include:

Resources:

  • Adding four ambulances and 21,840 weekly ambulance hours
  • Acquiring 68 full-time equivalent staff

New stations:

  • Completed one new station in the City of Markham to provide equitable response times across the Region
  • Planning for an additional two stations in the City of Vaughan and one in the Town of Georgina
  • Planning for two replacement stations, one in the Town of Stouffville and another in the Town of Aurora

Innovative programs and partnerships:

  • Launched Improving Patient Access and Care in the Community Program in April 2024, a new model of care integrating paramedics into the broader health care system to provide on-scene treatment, discharge patients at the scene, transport patients to appropriate non-hospital destinations and coordinate care with health partners
  • Installed anti-idling technology in ambulances, saving approximately $360,000 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 226 tonnes since 2020
  • Adding the first York Region electric ambulance by the end of 2024

“Paramedic Services strives for continuing to find innovative and efficient ways to enhance services to serve the community members when and where they need it most,” said City of Vaughan Regional Councillor Gino Rosati, Chair of Community and Health Services. “By having a long-term plan, we proactively identify factors affecting future program delivery and develop possible mitigation strategies to address them.”

An updated Master Plan for 2026 to 2031 will be presented to Regional Council for approval in 2026 and will incorporate changes based on evaluation of the new Medical Priority Dispatch System. The new system, being implemented in November 2024 by the Ministry of Health, which operates the Georgian Dispatch Centre, will improve paramedic resource deployment and prioritize patient needs without affecting overall response time performance.

For more information on Paramedic Services, please visit york.ca/Paramedics

The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to over 1.25 million residents and 57,000 businesses with more than 629,000 employees. More information about York Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/RegionalServices

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Media Contact:

Tamara Ostrowski, Corporate Communications,
The Regional Municipality of York
Phone: 1-877-464-9675, ext. 71226 Cell: 905-251-6412
@email