Palliative care patients in North Hastings will soon have easier access to treatment thanks to Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services.
The Service has become part of a pilot program that allows paramedics to deliver on-site pain and symptom management for palliative care patients. Once treatment is delivered on the scene, patients will then have the option of being sent to a hospice or hospital if need be. The paramedics will then help with the follow-up treatment.
Hastings, Lennox and Addington MPP Daryl Kramp supported the move in light of hospital capacity challenges the region was dealing with. He says Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services has a group that’s extremely well trained, managed and staffed and can handle initial contact of palliative care patients. The paramedics are prepared to act as the first stop to deliver immediate care for those patients, instead of taking people right to the hospice or hospital. He is certain that paramedics can give treatment that is effective and can give better care for patients while not overburdening the healthcare system.
Kramp says he is certain that this program will soon be rolled out across the province.