Vince Savoia was past his rookie days as a Toronto paramedic when he rushed into the apartment of Tema Conter, a girl who had been beaten, raped and stabbed 11 times in 1988.

Beneath a white sheet, he found the dead girl naked, her arms and legs bound behind her and a gag in her mouth. The horrific scene and Conter’s uncanny resemblance to Savoia’s then-fiancé, left him crying all the way home that evening and eventually triggered a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnoses years later.

In the last two decades, an increasing number of paramedics have followed suit, being plagued with PTSD and other operational stress injuries (OSI).

Now, it’s time to delve into the problem, says Toronto Ombudsman Fiona Crean, who launched an investigation Thursday into how Toronto Paramedic Services (TPS) handles stress injuries among staff.

Her investigation announcement follows a 2014 report from the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada that found “claims filed with workers compensation concerning PTSD among paramedic services staff are on the upswing” in some jurisdictions.

After repeatedly hearing about the problem, Crean told the Star on Thursday, “I decided I couldn’t look at this (issue) any further in an informal fashion.” She launched her investigation and made it public so more paramedics would come forward to offer stories and help.

She said her investigation was prompted by “a number of complaints” detailing concerns about the way psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug dependence and post-traumatic stress disorder are triggered by paramedic job duties.

Among their responsibilities are providing services to people in dire need of medical attention—some well past help—and entering harrowing crime scenes like Savoia encountered with Conter.

“It is not the kind of work you want to come home after and talk to your family about,” Savoia said. “I cannot tell you how many times I have responded to a call for a child that was physically abused. Those types of calls crawl under your skin.”

The calls can be hard to forget and to talk about, he said. Plus, not everyone is willing to discuss gruesome experiences with staff psychologists or peer-support teams.

“You will always find a paramedic who won’t use them because they are concerned about confidentiality,” he said. “You are almost damned if you do or damned if you don’t.”

In response to news of the ombudsman’s investigation, TPS Chief Paul Raftis said in an email to the Star, that the TPS “welcomes” the investigation and is “actively supporting her office in this matter.”

“The service takes the issue of OSI very seriously,” he said. “We are aware that OSI is an issue facing all emergency services, including our paramedics and dispatchers and we welcome emerging best practices from others that will help improve our approach to this issue.”

The Tema Conter Memorial Trust, which Savoia founded as a way to provide mental health support for emergency workers, estimated that between 16 and 24 per cent of these workers will experience PTSD.

Anecdotally, Savoia said he has heard from some paramedics who said they don’t receive the help they would like from their employers, but there are also plenty who feel they are being well-supported.

Many, including former President of the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada Michael Nolan, counted Toronto among the municipalities leading the way when it comes to mental health services for paramedics.

Nolan pointed to Toronto’s in-house psychologist and peer-support teams as innovative ways that the city is trying to curb operational stress injuries developed by paramedics.

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“There is a lot to be learned from Toronto,” he said.

Still, Savoia welcomed Crean’s investigation, saying, “even if they are doing things right, the investigation will help them learn how to do things better. Any investigation that would allow us to help first-responders is welcome.”