Ontario Announces $910M to Reduce Ambulance Delays

Ontario is allocating more than $910 million across the province to cut down on ambulance wait times.
“Over 200 patient care models led by paramedic services across the province are helping patients receive the care they need up to 17 times faster,” Jones said. “When someone experiences an emergency, it is vital that they receive the care they need as quickly as possible.”
Yearly funding for operations is known as the land ambulance services grant. This year’s $877 million allocation is up $66 million over the 2023 commitment of $811 million, according to provincial stats. On average, municipalities will receive roughly 8 percent more this year for their land ambulance operations.
The remaining $33 million will be earmarked for the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program to help hospitals hire more nurses and other eligible health professionals. The goal, Jones said, is to offload ambulance patients in hospital emergency departments as quickly as possible.
“This program allows paramedics to get back out into the community faster and respond to their next 9-1-1 call sooner,” she said, adding that provincial ambulance offload time has been reduced by more than 50 percent since its peak in October 2022.
Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs president Mike Sanderson said the “predictable” annual increases in funding for land ambulance services from the province is essential in the face of a population that is both growing and aging.
“As you know, the age demographic is shifting,” Sanderson said at the press conference.
“Unfortunately, the challenges facing the health care sector have never been so daunting,” Bowker said. “Homelessness, mental health and addictions, and access to primary care are creating new challenges, not only for our paramedics, but for our health care partners.”
He said other improvements for paramedic services across the province include a new radio network, and a dispatch system which his county will receive by February.
The Medical Priority Dispatch System has been launched in Mississauga, Kenora, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, and Renfrew so far, the province said in the release.