New Chief Announced For Peterborough County-City Paramedics

Patricia Bromfield has been appointed as the new Chief of Paramedics for Peterborough County-City Paramedics (PCCP), taking over Randy Mellow, whose tenure finishes at the end of the year, the county announced on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough County.

Bromfield assumed the Deputy Chief of Operations role at Peterborough County in the fall of 2022. Before her tenure with the County, she served as the Deputy Chief of Operations at the City of Kawartha Lakes and had a substantial paramedic career with the City of Toronto.

Mellow will provide mentorship and guidance throughout 2024 to Bromfield as she takes on her new role and responsibilities.

"I would like to congratulate Patricia Bromfield and welcome her to the role of Paramedic Chief,” said Mellow. “Patricia possesses a wealth of experience and knowledge having progressed through various frontline and leadership roles throughout her career. Her experience and passion for supportive leadership and innovation will be an asset to our team and community.”

“I am honoured to be following in the footsteps of our decorated Chief of Paramedics, Randy Mellow, as he embarks on his retirement at the close of 2024,” said Bromfield. “I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to learn from an industry leader who has played a key role in advancing the Paramedic profession. I look forward to collaborating with Peterborough County's robust leadership team and our partners in the coming years.”

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Peterborough Paramedic Chief Randy Mellow Announces Retirement After 37 Years

After 37 years of service in paramedicine, Chief Randy Mellow of Peterborough County-City Paramedics (PCCP), Senior Director of Emergency and Shared Services and Deputy CAO is retiring at the end of 2024, announced on Monday.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

“It has been an indescribable pleasure and rewarding experience to have worked at the County of Peterborough and to have served Peterborough County and City as Chief,” said Mellow. “I have watched with pride as this service grew with the support of Canada's best Paramedics, leaders, and support staff. I look forward to continuing to proudly support PCCP, the new Chief and the leadership team throughout the coming year in my Senior Director/Deputy CAO role.”

Chief Mellow had tendered his retirement with a year's notice according to a press release.

Mellow served as the Deputy Chief of Peterborough County-City Paramedics (PCCP) from 2007 – 2011, as the Chief in Essex-Windsor from 2011 to 2014 and again as Chief of PCCP from 2014 - present. He also served as the President of Paramedic Chiefs of Canada from 2015 - 2023.

Mellow’s successor will have an opportunity to train directly with him. The succession plan is in its final stages and will be launched imminently according to Peterborough County. A new Chief is expected for early next year.

During the transition period, Mellow is continuing his role as Senior Director of Emergency & Shared Services/Deputy CAO with Peterborough County throughout 2024.

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Peterborough County-City Paramedics Get Funding Boost to $9.5 Million From Ontario Government Grant

The Peterborough County-City Paramedics received a boost of $914,328, totalling $9,490,038, for this year’s funding from the Ontario Government’s Land Ambulance Service Grant (LASG) announced at the Selwyn Fire Department (Hall #2) in Lakefield on Friday morning.

MPP Dave Smith (left); Sherry Senis, Peterborough County deputy warden and Randy Mellow, Peterborough County Paramedic Chief at Selwyn Fire Department (Hall #2) in Lakefield making the announcement. The province’s 2023 investment of $811 million in the Land Ambulance Services Grant represents an average funding increase of 11 per cent for municipalities over the last two years. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The investment is part of $811 million in the province to help municipalities facing increased cost pressures in their emergency departments.

“When people call 911, they need to know that paramedics will arrive quickly to meet their needs. A delay in a service call of just minutes can lead to drastically different results,” said Dave Smith, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP. “The Peterborough County-City Paramedics work hard to deliver emergency medical care. This investment will help all of us receive better service when our loved ones pick up the phone at that critical time.”

This will support hiring additional paramedics, wage and cost of living adjustments and general ambulance services operation to meet the needs of the local community according to Randy Mellow, Peterborough County Paramedic Chief.

“That’s eight full-time paramedics and a number of part-time that support them so they can have vacations and leaves,” he explained. “It’s about a 10 per cent increase in staffing.”

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Ontario Investing Over $450,000 For Hiring Staff to Address Ambulance Offload Times at PRHC

The Ontario Government is investing $450,683 to support fast ambulance response and turnaround times for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

Warden J. Murray Jones (left), Chief Randy Mellow (middle) and MPP Dave Smith (right) during Jones’s final days as warden before retiring from a 24-year political tenure. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

This is part of the province’s ‘Plan to Stay Open: Health System Stability and Recover’ where $16.1 million is being invested in 20 communities across the province through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program.

This results in more hired additional nurses and health care workers including paramedics, respiratory therapists and physician assistants, who are dedicated to offloading ambulance patients to receive care in emergency departments according to the press release.

“Too often, ambulances are stuck at PRHC caring for patients when they should be out on service calls throughout the community,” MPP Dave Smith said. “This funding will help ensure that Peterborough Paramedics are where they belong, helping those who need it, when they need it.”

In addition to this $16.1 million, Ontario is investing an additional $7 million in the program for 2022–23 as announced in the 2022 Ontario Budget: Ontario’s Plan to Build.

“As a recipient community of offload delay funding for years, we are pleased that this funding will continue in our community and pleased to see that the Province is expanding to include other hospitals and communities,” said Warden J. Murray Jones. “This additional funding will expand the program to new municipalities while providing additional support to previously funded communities where this program has already been regarded as a success.”

“Peterborough County-City Paramedics have worked closely with PRHC for years identifying and implementing strategies to assist with systemic offload delays,” said Chief Randy Mellow. “The continuance of this funding is critical to our entities and our community.”

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Ontario Government Receiving Over $8.5 Million in Funding for Peterborough County-City Ambulance Services

Peterborough County-City Paramedics is receiving $8,701,551 from the Ontario Government to support the hiring of additional paramedics, wage and cost of living adjustments and general ambulance services operations announced at the Peterborough Paramedic station on Friday morning.

Warden J. Murray Jones (left), Chief Randy Mellow (middle) and MPP Dave Smith (right) during Jones’s final days as warden before retiring from a 24-year political tenure. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The funding is part of the Ontario Government investment of nearly $764 million in the province’s Land Ambulance Service Grant (LASG) to help municipalities facing increased cost pressures in their emergency departments.

“When people call 911, they need to know that paramedics will arrive quickly to meet their needs. A delay in a service call of just minutes can lead to drastically different results,” said MPP Dave Smith. “This investment will help all of us receive better service when our loved ones pick up the phone at that critical time.”

Through LASG, municipalities receive funding for 50 per cent of the costs of their land ambulance operations. This funding is part of the government’s commitment to building a modern, sustainable and connected emergency health system that supports every Ontarian on their health care journey according to a press release.

“The Province has supported our response to COVID-19 and recognized the need for support continues as we emerge from the Pandemic in order to provide stability required for our Paramedic Service to ensure we meet the community’s needs,” said Chief Randy Mellow. “In addition, the Ontario government is also continuing to fund 100 per cent of costs for Central Ambulance Communications Centres.”

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Is Your Urgency An Emergency? Peterborough Paramedics Remind Public That Arriving In Ambulance Will Not Speed Up Emerge Wait Time

Peterborough County City Paramedics is reminding the public of the importance of assessing their own needs before calling 911.

File Photo.

“It’s important for people to consider all of the different avenues if it isn’t a dire emergency,” said Craig Jones, Commander with Peterborough County City Paramedics.

Jones notes that, if the situation at hand is not dire, people should consider calling their physician if they have one, phoning Telehealth 1-866-797-0000, or visiting a pharmacy for recommended treatment.

“Given the staffing crisis in the healthcare world, PRHC staff is constantly juggling how to best respond to emerge patients.”

On Tuesday, Peterborough Scanner Feed reported that a man entered the Emergency Room at PRHC, thought the triage line was too long, so stepped outside and called an ambulance.

“There is no express lane to emerge,” said Jones. “People often feel that if they call 911, and arrive on a stretcher they will be treated quicker, that’s just not true.”

Jones explained that when an ambulance arrives at PRHC with a patient, a triage nurse assesses the situation, speaks with the patient and the paramedic and they are treated based on the severity of their condition.

Patients arriving by ambulance may still have to wait hours to be seen, which means the paramedics that brought them have to wait with them. This means there are less paramedics available to respond to emergencies.

“It’s important for us to do some self reflection before we call 911,” said Jones. “Of course, when we’re struggling it feels like our personal emergency, but think ‘do I have a friend that might be able to get me there?’”

Jones emphasized that each situation is different and phoning 911 in the event of an emergency is important, but if other options are feasible they should be utilized.

On any given night shift Peterborough Paramedics have 7 units on the roads, and 10 units during the day shift. Each unit is staffed by two paramedics.

Jones notes they just hired a group of new paramedics that are now in the field, and they are ready to hire more.

Recently, Peterborough Paramedics enhanced their Community Paramedic Program.

Community Paramedics do not respond to 911 calls. Clients are referred to the program through various agencies in the city. Clients usually consist of people that live at home but may need extra support.

By organizing regular home visits or providing clients with monitoring systems that automatically alert Peterborough Paramedics of their state, 911 calls are drastically cut.

Currently, there are 11 members of the Community Paramedic Program. They do not utilize ambulances.

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Peterborough Recognizes First Ever International Paramedics Day

Friday marks the first ever International Paramedics Day, meant to recognize and celebrate the work carried out by paramedics around the world.

In 2018, Peterborough Paramedics became the first EMS Service in North America to pilot an integrated driving experience. File Photo.

July 8 marks the birthday of Dominique-Jean Larrey, a French surgeon and military doctor who is credited with introducing field hospitals, ambulance services, and first-aid practices to the battlefield. He is often referred to as the 'father of modern-day ambulance services'.

This day comes after Peterborough Paramedic Services experienced their busiest year in 2021.

According to a report released in March of this year, 2021 saw 19,305 emergency/urgent calls, up 13.24 per cent from 2020.

Peterborough Paramedics responded to a total of 38,439 calls in 2021, compared to 34,112 calls in 2020.

In celebration of the day, Peterborough County will be featuring some of Peterborough’s paramedics on their Facebook page.

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Peterborough County-City Paramedics Seeking Feedback Regarding Recent Ambulance Services

Peterborough County-City Paramedics are inviting the public to complete their confidential survey regarding individuals most recent experience with their ambulance service.

File Photo.

“We are always looking for ways to ensure our paramedics continue to provide excellent service to our community.” said Chief Randy Mellow, “This feedback will help us to do this.”

The survey opens Monday and closes on Friday. It consists on 17 questions and will take approximately three minutes.

Everything will be kept confidential and no personal information will be collected. Feedback will be combined with other responses and used for analytical purposes only.

There are two ways to access this survey, visit ptbocounty.ca/ambulancesurvey or by using a smart phone scan the QR code, found in this months hospital bill or on roadside signs found throughout the County and City of Peterborough.

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Peterborough Paramedics Dealt With A 'Perfect Storm' Influx Of Calls Monday Night

At around 5:30 p.m. on Monday night, popular Facebook page Peterborough Scanner Feed reported that there were no available ambulances in the City of Peterborough.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Paramedics.

Deputy Chief of Operations of Peterborough Paramedics, Chris Barry, said that while all on duty units were in use Monday night, Ontario paramedics operate ‘seamlessly’.

“It’s considered seamless meaning if there happened to be a nearby ambulance that wasn’t technically in our jurisdiction they would still respond to a call here in Peterborough,” he said.

On any given night shift Peterborough Paramedics have 7 units on the roads, and 10 units during the day shift. Each unit is staffed by two paramedics.

Barry said Monday night was a ‘perfect storm’ of factors that contributed to the lack of available Peterborough ambulances.

The inclement weather lead to an influx of calls, but because Peterborough Regional Hospital is implementing new software wait times are longer.

“We were notified a couple days ago by the hospital to let us know while its being introduced there’s potentially going to be some delays, but last night was just the perfect storm.”

Barry also noted that Peterborough Paramedics always experience an influx of calls this time of year due to flu season, and many doctors offices are closed or have reduced hours for the holidays - meaning hospitals are some peoples only means of care.

“This is not an everyday occurrence, though we do see this every year around this time,” said Barry. “We’re doing everything we can as a service to put more ambulances on the road. The hope is that everyone will be better prepared next time.”

Peterborough Paramedics just hired 11 probationary paramedics, and also notes that 100 per cent of paramedics working in Peterborough are double vaccinated, meaning no paramedics have been laid off due to COVID.

“We respond to a lot of calls that generally don’t need an ambulance,” said Barry.

In 2019 Peterborough Paramedic Chief appeared in a video titled ‘Is your Urgency and Emergency - It’s your Call’.

Barry says the message in that video still rings true.

“Often people think that if they’re brought to the hospital in an ambulance they’ll get seen quicker - which just isn’t true anymore.”

Whether a patient arrives on their own or by ambulance they are triaged.

Barry notes that by Tuesday morning they were back to normal service, having only one unit out of ten in use.

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Chief of Peterborough County and Kawartha Lakes paramedics Renews Contract

Randy Mellow, Chief of Paramedics Peterborough County and Kawartha Lakes, will continue his role in both positions for an additional two years, announced on Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of Peterboroguh County.

It has been a year since Chief Mellow stepped into the dual leadership role for both Services.

“I am very pleased with the decision to continue the shared services agreement that will see continued partnership and collaboration between the Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough Paramedic Services,” said Chief Mellow. “At this time of unprecedented growth and evolution of paramedicine, the visionary leadership of our municipalities as demonstrated in this agreement is key to responding to the needs of our communities in an efficient and proactive way. I am excited to continue to play a role in that vision.”

This Agreement was an early example of the Provincial mandate to find efficiencies and modernization to assist in evolving paramedicine in Ontario. It has been an effective pilot of a collaboration between the two Paramedic Services.

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