New Durham paramedic funding from Ontario will bring annual base support for the Region’s land ambulance system to more than $40.9 million.
The new Durham paramedic funding represents a 10 per cent increase over the previous year, according to a provincial announcement reported Thursday. The money supports frontline ambulance operations across Durham Region.
Separate funding targets hospital offload delays
Durham will also receive $742,616 through Ontario’s Dedicated Offload Nurses Program. That funding is intended to pay for nurses and other health professionals who can take responsibility for patients arriving by ambulance, allowing paramedics to return to emergency calls sooner.
Ambulance offload time measures how long paramedic crews wait at a hospital before care is transferred to emergency-department staff. Long waits can reduce the number of ambulances available to respond in the community.
The province says average offload times have declined by roughly 68 per cent since reaching a peak in October 2022. The local funding is intended to continue that progress by supporting both paramedic capacity and dedicated hospital personnel.
Funding covers communities across Durham
The land ambulance allocation applies across Durham Region, including Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge and Whitby.
Whitby MPP Lorne Coe said the increase is intended to improve timely access to emergency care. Durham MPP Todd McCarthy said the offload component will help hospitals use nurses and other professionals to receive patients while paramedics return to service. Pickering-Uxbridge MPP Peter Bethlenfalvy said the investment should improve ambulance availability and response capacity.
The announcement describes planned operating support, not a promise that every response or transfer will be faster. Actual response times can vary by call volume, staffing, hospital capacity and the severity of individual emergencies.
