Yesterday, on November 1, an unprecedented 12 Waterloo region ambulances were on off-load delay for up to 15 hours; St. Mary’s Hospital—same day—10 ambulances waiting to off-load. Paramedics say that they are facing a crisis that can no longer be ignored. This is dangerous. It’s happening across Ontario, with no cure offered by the Ford government.

Off-load delays occur when paramedics cannot transfer the care of the patient over to the hospital due to a lack of space or staffing, so they are stuck waiting, instead of responding to calls, usually waiting in a hall in a hospital or a parking lot.

When people call 911, it’s because they need an ambulance, they need a paramedic, they need medical assistance. It’s not one of the calls that you make and you’re saying, “Well, I can stay on hold for an hour.”

Code reds occur when there are no ambulances available to respond to calls. In Waterloo region, there were 87 code reds over the first nine months of 2022, a major jump from 21 in the past year. John Riches, chief of paramedics, calls this deeply concerning. Paramedic services is currently losing the equivalent of three 12-hour ambulance shifts per day to off-load delay.

Waterloo is resilient. They have brought in their own local solutions, but let’s be honest: The province needs to acknowledge that this is a real issue affecting Ontarians. Code reds should not be the new normal in the province of Ontario.