Saskatoon's Medavie paramedics saw another record year for emergency calls

Saskatoon paramedics responded to a record number of emergency calls this year, yet again, although they say the increase is smaller than in recent years.

Medavie Health Services West says paramedics responded to 42,188 emergency calls in 2024, an increase of 63 emergency responses.

“Really since 2019, we're seeing increases in the thousands of responses from our street staff responding to calls in Saskatoon and surrounding communities,” Davies said. “To have a year like we did last year, it's not saying those calls weren’t there, they’re just being done in a different style.”

The increase is far lower than recent years.

Last year, the service received 42,125 emergency calls, an increase of 1,717. In 2022, 40,408 calls were taken, marking an increase of 572.

The service has seen a record number of calls for at least the last decade as the city continues to grow.

As emergency calls increased slightly, community paramedics — where paramedics treat patients in the community as an alternative to taking them to hospitals — has had an impact on keeping call numbers lower.

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Davies says those team members experienced an increase in responses from 3623 in 2023, to 8032 events in 2024.

“They're playing a prevalent role and significant role in treating patients so that they don't have to go to ERs, they don't need ambulances to be transported,” Davies said.

“We're starting to see a lot of great things from it and helping reducing the amount of calls that we're transporting.”

Davies says with Saskatoon’s population increasing and more people entering the community without a family doctor, community paramedics are able to help prevent people from going to a hospital for care that doesn’t need to be provided in an emergency room.

“We’re seeing really the city of North Battleford move to Saskatoon and none of them have doctors,” Davies said.

“Going back to that old-style treatment of doctors making house calls, it’s kind of like paramedics making house calls.”

Another outlier in the yearly data is paramedics giving far less Narcan, used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and Davies says that’s largely because of the help of community partners

“I think it's great news. It speaks to the increase in community awareness and the number of people who are understanding what naloxone is, how to use it and we're continuing to get those kits out,” Prairie Harm Reduction executive director Kayla Demong said.

The centre provides support services to drug users and those struggling with homelessness, and runs Saskatchewan’s first safe consumption site.

Davies says paramedics administered roughly half the Narcan they did last year, and Demong says people using Prairie Harm’s drop-in services are becoming far more comfortable using Narcan to reverse the effects of a drug overdose rather than calling 911. She’s also noticing far more groups and companies that don’t work directly with homeless people or active drug users reaching out for help.

“We've had a huge shift in who is contacting us for naloxone training. Everyone from bars and pubs and restaurants to retail spaces and community groups, looking to get training as well,” she said.

In 2024, Prairie Harm held 68 training sessions outside of drop-ins, a new record. Prairie Harm also handed out nearly 1,300 naloxone kits.

“I do see a lot more compassion from local people, and especially from businesses who are now seeing people on the streets as our homeless population has increased,” Demong said.

Administering Narcan doesn’t mean paramedics aren’t needed. Davies says people recovering from an overdose may need care afterwards, but when Narcan is administered, paramedics aren’t arriving to a person in respiratory distress or someone who is unconscious.

“It’s making sure that patients aren't dying,” Davies said. “Patient care is our number one priority.”