{"id":5793,"date":"2025-05-09T19:18:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-10T00:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/?p=5793"},"modified":"2025-05-09T20:09:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T01:09:53","slug":"paramedics-ponder-quitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/2025\/05\/09\/paramedics-ponder-quitting\/","title":{"rendered":"Paramedics Sound the Alarm on Burnout and Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Blog Post \u2013 May 8, 2025<\/strong><br><strong>\u201cWe Can\u2019t Keep Going Like This\u201d: Winnipeg Paramedics Sound the Alarm on Burnout and Violence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paramedics are often hailed as heroes, racing into crises with calm under pressure and care in chaos. But a new survey released by the Manitoba Government and General Employees\u2019 Union (MGEU) reveals a workforce on the brink\u2014emotionally exhausted, physically endangered, and seriously contemplating walking away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDoing CPR on somebody isn\u2019t a normal human event,\u201d said Ryan Woiden, president of MGEU Local 911 and a 25-year paramedic veteran. \u201cSometimes we are doing it two, three times a day. Sometimes on the same person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This isn\u2019t just about long shifts or lack of resources\u2014though those issues are front and centre. It\u2019s about the cumulative toll of trauma, chronic understaffing, and a spike in workplace violence that\u2019s left paramedics deeply depleted. According to the survey of 205 Winnipeg paramedics and dispatchers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>71%<\/strong> have seriously considered quitting in the past year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>77%<\/strong> feel emotionally drained or burned out<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>93%<\/strong> have experienced violence on the job<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>24%<\/strong> face violent incidents <strong>daily<\/strong>, with another <strong>41%<\/strong> experiencing it <strong>weekly<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>67%<\/strong> report inadequate staffing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>63%<\/strong> feel unsupported by management<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Winnipeg continues to grapple with a toxic drug crisis and an overburdened emergency system, paramedics say they\u2019re being sent into situations they aren\u2019t resourced or rested to handle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhile people sleep in their beds, paramedics are out there, and they\u2019re getting things swung at them, kicked, punched \u2014 it\u2019s all sorts of things going on out there,\u201d Woiden shared during the press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">System Under Strain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paramedics are now so overtasked that they&#8217;re sometimes assigned new calls while still offloading patients at the hospital\u2014forced to abandon the mental reset they desperately need between emergencies. There\u2019s little time to decompress after resuscitating a child or reversing an overdose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Woiden and MGEU president Kyle Ross are calling on the city and province to act. Their ask: increase staffing, provide meaningful mental health supports, and re-evaluate how and when paramedics are dispatched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not every call needs \u201clights and sirens,\u201d Woiden argued. In some cases, it may be safer and more efficient to treat people in their homes, coordinate home care, or connect them with community resources. It\u2019s a more holistic, less reactive approach to care\u2014one that could save lives and retain workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Crisis Years in the Making<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) acknowledged the growing toll in an emailed response. Chief Christian Schmidt said the service has made recent changes to prioritize the most urgent calls and is working to improve access to mental health supports through its behavioural health unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, many believe more urgent action is needed. Ross warned that if the current trend continues, the system could face widespread psychological injuries among paramedics and a mass exodus from the profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early retirements, job changes to policing or firefighting, and out-of-province moves are already happening, Woiden said. Without targeted recruitment and real improvements in work conditions, Winnipeg risks not only burning out its first responders\u2014but leaving residents without timely emergency care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Government Responds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a late-day statement, the Manitoba government pointed to the hiring of 1,600 net new health care workers this past year and promised to continue staffing efforts, including hiring for a new position focused on recruiting allied health professionals like paramedics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the statement signals awareness, union leaders say promises won\u2019t fix what\u2019s broken unless paramedics feel safe, supported, and heard on the front lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople call 911 expecting help to come. We want to be there. But we can\u2019t keep going like this,\u201d Woiden said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The crisis isn\u2019t just in the field. It\u2019s in the silence that follows each call, the weight paramedics carry home, and the system that keeps asking more while offering less. If we want to keep our heroes, it\u2019s time we start treating them like human beings.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blog Post \u2013 May 8, 2025\u201cWe Can\u2019t Keep Going Like This\u201d: Winnipeg Paramedics Sound the Alarm on Burnout and Violence &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Paramedics Sound the Alarm on Burnout and Violence\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/2025\/05\/09\/paramedics-ponder-quitting\/#more-5793\" aria-label=\"Read more about Paramedics Sound the Alarm on Burnout and Violence\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5804,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-20","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5793"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5805,"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5793\/revisions\/5805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cindygilroy.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}