BC Paramedics

You are playing a hockey game and an opposing player slides into the boards at high speed and breaks his leg off at the top of the skate. The blood pool spreads remarkably fast as half-naked hockey players stand in a circle watching you pack the wound with their jerseys. There is nothing to do but wait.

Neighborhood kids are racing their bikes down the street when an unaware driver opens his doors, causing one child to flip over his handlebars and land on his head. He is unconscious and his friends are hysterical. There is nothing to do but wait.

You're rollerblading along one-way path of the Stanley Park seawall at top speed when some clueless tourists on two person bikes come wobbling around the corner run you off the wall. Stumbling over into the intertidal zone you suddenly find yourself helpless, tumbling down the rocks. As you pick yourself up with curious tourists peering over the edge, all you feel is white hot pain; your ankle is shattered. There is nothing to do but wait.

We wait for help, we wait for Paramedics. They arrive calmly, walking as they bring order to chaos. I have depended on them; we all have depended on them at some point in our lives.
When you call 911 the first question the operator asks is "Police, Fire or Ambulance." If someone is hurt the ambulance arrives to help the injured yet for some mysterious reason paramedics are compensated less that Police or Fire.

Paramedics train for 12-18 months. They often work long shifts of 12 hours. They are our first responders, and our first line of defense to help the injured. Paramedics are an essential service and BC has some of the most dedicated in the country because they get paid the least.

There is a shortage of paramedics, and our level of service is dropping. With an increasing and ageing population, response times have increase. Paramedic service should be improving because it's essential, to all of us. So what is the problem? Why are there fewer paramedics joining the cause? Why are more paramedics leaving the service?

This is because they are under compensated for their education and for the work they do. Paramedics truly love to help people, to save them. They work for the love of the job, for the excitement, and for the chance to make a difference. Those who have left (I know a few) or have refused to sign up, I fully understand because I'm one of them. As a former lifeguard I thought long and hard about joining, but knowing the compensation, it just wasn't in me. Those who have stayed or recently joined (I know quite a few) have my admiration.

When a paramedic is on call for 24 hours he or she makes $2 an hour. After being on call, ready to bring the necessary skills and equipment to save a life, this selfless worker receives $48 before taxes. Not even the pay of a full 8-hour shift.
Starting Paramedics work for $15/hr, and serve for 5 years before making a decent wage. They can't start a family or buy a house on the peanuts that they make.

This situation is unfair, and crucial to us being able to receive prompt service. All people, the poor and the rich, need paramedics at some point. They bring order to chaos. They help the injured. Their counterparts make much more than they do and we have a shortage in BC.

This issue is about BC residents being able to receive an Essential service. How many selfless heroes can BC have? Why must we push our current heroes to their economic limit? There is nothing for them to do but wait.

We must now help them.

The website http://www.saveourparamedics.com/theissue.php can provide greater detail.