Frontenac paramedics get major funding boost as Ontario targets faster emergency response

Funding is going up 14 percent bringing its total contribution to $14,304,306 this year.

Frontenac County is getting a significant increase in provincial ambulance funding this year as Ontario works to keep more paramedics available for emergency calls.

The province is increasing land ambulance funding for Frontenac by 14 per cent, bringing its total contribution to $14,304,306 this year.

Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston MPP John Jordan said strong partnerships with local governments are an important part of maintaining emergency medical services across the riding.

The Frontenac increase is above the nine-per-cent average increase Ontario is providing municipalities across the province this year.

The money is intended to help cover operating costs, including staffing, equipment, training and other resources needed to keep ambulances on the road.

Ontario is also providing $547,635 through the Dedicated Offload Nurses Program to support nurses and other eligible health professionals helping ambulance crews transfer patients at Kingston General Hospital.

That program is designed to get paramedics back into the community sooner rather than leaving them waiting at emergency departments after bringing patients to hospital.

Ontario says provincial ambulance offload times have dropped by about 68 per cent since their peak in October 2022.

Jordan said the funding will help with a very public problem. 

Community paramedicine is another part of the province's approach.

Those programs can allow some patients to receive care without being transported to hospital, potentially reducing pressure on emergency departments and freeing conventional ambulances for more urgent calls.

The province says more than $1 billion is being provided for land ambulance services across Ontario this year.

For Frontenac residents, the new funding is aimed at helping paramedics keep pace with rising demand while improving ambulance availability throughout the county and Kingston.

Story by Bob Perreault