Ambulance paramedics worried about “stressful overlap” during opioid crisis and pandemic

B.C.’s Ambulance Paramedics have been working through increasingly stressful situations, as the pandemic and the opioid crisis continue to overlap.

As the regulations surrounding the pandemic have eased, overall call volumes have increased. That increase has made it more challenging for members of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC (APBC) to do their jobs effectively and efficiently.

In a news release, the union who represents paramedics across the province highlighted a study by the BC Centre for Disease Control that suggests drug users had higher risk factors associated with COVID-19. That means first responders have taken extra precautions when responding to overdose calls.

“Some of the procedures that we do tend to be aerosol-generating procedures. In particular when a patient is unresponsive or in cardiac arrest,” Kevan Chesney, speaking on behalf of APBC tells CFJC Today. “Those personal protective equipment items we’ve added – the gown, the face shield, and the silicon respirator – protect us from those aerosols that may be generated from some of the procedures that we have to do.”

These new protocols also give paramedics like Kevan Chesney a better guide to remaining safe on the job. Chesney says early on, the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic added stress to the job.

“We were still dealing with the effects of the opioid crisis, and we were tasked with doing some of the highest acuity calls and some of the most invasive procedures I’ve done in my 20 years as a paramedic,” Chesney says. “As a result of that uncertainty, and the types of patients we were dealing with, it was the only time in my career I’ve had to take a short time and step away from work to make sure I was ready to come back and treat patients.”