GLENBURNIE – Local paramedic officials were taken by surprise by the provincial government’s announcement of a radical redesign of how land ambulances are organized.

In a memo to the province’s 444 municipalities on Monday night, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario informed its members that the government would be reducing the number of paramedic services from 52 municipal agencies and six First Nations paramedic services to 10 services.

Frontenac Paramedics Chief Paul Charbonneau said the announced restructuring was unexpected and described them as “very interesting.”

“This totally took AMO and the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs by surprise,” he said. “We had heard no discussions about it. We did not see that piece in the budget that referred to emergency health services that could have been a clue.”

Charbonneau said paramedic chiefs had been calling for years for a redesign of the ambulance dispatch system, and he said the government had committed to looking at those.

The ambulance communication centre in Kingston currently dispatches five ambulance services, he said.

“When it went to AMO on Monday afternoon and out to the CAOs and the chiefs, it was totally the first time we heard about it,” said Cahrbonneau, adding that the changes could mirror how paramedic services are delivered in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Across Ontario, municipal governments spend about $720 million on paramedic services, and the province contributes about $580 million.

Frontenac Paramedics has a $19 million budget and employs 84 full-time and 76 part-time paramedics.

The City of Kingston funds about 40 per cent of FPS, with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care paying about 45 per cent and Frontenac County contributing 15 per cent.

By 2023, Frontenac Paramedic Services’ budget is projected to increase by $2 million to more than $23 million.

Approximately 85 per cent of the service’s calls are within the city limits.

From 2017 to 2018, FPS’s call volume increased by 8.24 per cent.

About 54 per cent of ambulance calls are for patients who are 60 or older, a statistic that is only going to increase as the population ages.

Charbonneau said the province has committed to consulting with groups involved in paramedicine.

Frontenac County Warden Ron Higgins said it was too soon to know how the transition would play out.

“There is too many unknowns,” Higgins said. “There is no background information. We don’t know how that is going to happen, what their thoughts are.

“I can’t really comment because there is nothing to comment on, other than they have got everybody worried and upset because they just announce a plan without any detail.”

Higgins noted that the provincial government has previously announced plans to restructure the administration of health and public health into 10 larger agencies and that paramedic services might be headed in that direction.

“I think everything is evolving around governance around Ontario in 10 regions,” Higgins said.