Paramedics take on role in COVID screening

Jeff Green | Apr 29, 2020

As the COVID-19 response carries on, the role that members of both the Frontenac, and Lennox and Addington, Paramedic services play, is changing as well.

Thanks to the paramedicine program that Frontenac Paramedic Services (FPS)established in late 2014, the service has already been providing support for the COVID testing effort in Kingston and Frontenac.

The Frontenac program usually runs wellness clinics at locations across the county, but those cannot be run at this time because of the pandemic. Instead, the paramedics working in the program, have been working with other healthcare professionals, as testing in the region has been ramping up.

“We are working at the COVID assessment centre in Kingston. We have a community paramedicine coordinator stationed there, and paramedics have been taking shifts, said Marc Goudie, Deputy Chief of Performance Standards at FPS. “It is a combined effort with public health, the hospitals, and the City of Kingston.

The paramedicine program gives FPS the capacity to provide this service without impacting service levels for emergency calls throughout the region, because the program operates outside of the regular ambulance service.

As KFL&A Public Health begins the task of testing patients and staff at all long-term care homes, there will be an increase in the number of tests to be conducted in the homes.

“Public Health is getting ready to implement that testing,” said Goudie. Thus far, Frontenac Paramedics have been asked to help swab the staff at the county owned long term care centre, Fairmount Home.

Goudie said that he has been pleasantly surprised that FPS has been able to take on new responsibilities for testing, without stretching its resources to the breaking point. 

“We are pulling some extra people to help with this, and it has been manageable,” he said.

Because Lennox and Addington Paramedic Services does not have a paramedicine program in place, they have not been able to provide support at testing facilities.  The Ministry of Health has recently put out a new medical directive for COVID-19, however,  that could result in testing of some patients who call 911 or emergency services.

Mark Schjerning, the Chief, Emergency Services for L&A County, said that in the near future, paramedics in KFL&A will be able to test patients during certain 911 calls.

“Patients that are what we call code 3 or 4, who exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 and choose not to be transported to hospital, will be able to be swabbed on the spot by paramedics, saving them a trip to the testing centre,” he said. “A pilot project in Hastings County is underway now, and paramedics will require training, but it is something we are getting ready to implement.”

Marc Goudie said that Frontenac Paramedics are also preparing to do COVID testing as part of their emergency service.