The Executive Director of BC Emergency Health Services says while the staffing situation that led to an urgent, province-wide plea for paramedics to fill shifts in Kamloops Tuesday was serious, the practice of bringing in staff from other communities is not uncommon.

In an interview on NL Newsday BCEHS Executive Vice President Leanne Heppell said the service was able to find enough paramedics to staff four ambulances Tuesday evening, and just two overnight.

“What happened on Tuesday was a very serious event, I just want to give kudos to the supervisors, and managers, and paramedics that really went the extra mile to cover shifts that night.”

Sources to NL News say that as of around 9 a.m. on June 7, there was just one paramedic scheduled to work on all of the ambulances in Kamloops that night, in a city of roughly 100,000 people.

Heppell says due to the borderless nature of BC’s ambulance service, paramedics can work in different towns and cities throughout the province.

“We do cover off the province and neighbouring communities and so its not uncommon we would ask for help from one of the neighbouring communities to come and help, and we did receive that help until 3 am,” she said.

“Generally, that help comes from areas that are already well staffed or have extra cars on that night so again that’s not a new process, that’s something BCEHS and the paramedics themselves do on a regular basis to ensure we have the appropriate coverage when one community is short or experiencing.”

She says it was a scramble, but that’s not uncommon.

“Generally when we are scrambling , its when we get in those short term sick calls, and certainly that has increased since COVID because we do not want people coming in with COVID symptoms.”

Troy Clifford, president of The Ambulance Paramedics of BC (CUPE 873) told NL Newsday on Tuesday that the situation should not have been a surprise, as there were over 300 vacant shifts on the schedule a full month ago.

When asked about it,  Heppell said it was not uncommon.

“Scheduling is dynamic, so we might have 300 vacancies, across the province at one point in time, but that’s what the scheduling office and the staffing office does on an hour by hour basis. They are filling needs, calling in staff, and if need be, moving staff around.”

It’s unclear what communities paramedics were pulled from to provide coverage for Kamloops, an area with a population of roughly 100,000, though there are indications some medics were pulled from the Barriere area.

Heppel says all of the paramedic positions in Kamloops are currently filled, but notes some of the staff will not be able to start for a little while.

“The staff that have filled those permanent positions, they will take several weeks to get them physically moved up to Kamloops and working.”

She adds BCEHS is currently recruiting for casual positions in the community.

-With files from Abby Zieverink