Oxford County paramedics are highly trained and very skilled healthcare professionals who respond to emergencies throughout the County, providing advanced assessment, initiating pre-hospital medical treatment and diligent patient care throughout transport.
The skills that Paramedics are certified to deliver are detailed in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 the Ambulance Act of Ontario (O. Reg 257/00):
SCHEDULE 2
These skills are delegated by the Medical Director for the
Southwestern Regional Base Hospital Program – a quality assurance agency that oversees the performance by paramedics of delegated acts.
In Oxford County, all paramedics have an expanded scope of practice and are certified to perform: external cardiac defibrillation, IV therapy, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), oxygen administration and the delivery of 8 medications (ASA, Nitroglycerine, Glucagon, Dextrose, Epinephrine, Ventolin, Gravol and Benadryl). This expanded scope allows the paramedics to deliver essential care in Oxford County where, due to our rural / small urban environments, the time required to get to the hospital may be longer than in the city.
In order to ensure that their skills are maintained to the highest standard, our paramedics re-certify annually with additional time spent in both classroom-based and self-directed Continuing Medical Education (CME).