Ottawa Paramedic Service achieves response time targets, reports drop in level zero events

The Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee today received an update from the Ottawa Paramedic Service on its achievements in 2024, showcasing significant improvements in emergency response and community care.  The Ottawa Paramedic Service met all legislated response time targets in 2024 for the first time since 2020. Level zero events, which occur when there are no ambulances available to respond to a call, decreased by 79 per cent. There was also a decrease in hospital offload delay, meaning that paramedics spent less time waiting to transfer patient care to hospital staff.   These significant improvements reflect a year of innovation, investment and dedication to serving the community. 

• The new triage software Medical Priority Dispatch System was implemented in April 2024 and had an immediate positive impact on service delivery. 

• Council approved critical investments to support the service and address pressures through the 2024 - 2026 Ottawa Paramedic Service Investment Plan. 

• Community paramedics cared for 11,000 patients and conducted more than 16,000 visits, keeping people healthy at home, and reducing the need for transport to hospital and unnecessary hospital admissions.  

The Service also delivered innovative care through special teams.  

• The Mental Well-being Response Team assisted people experiencing mental health and substance use challenges and reduced the number of transports to hospitals and 9-1-1 calls. 

• The ByWard Market Advanced Care Paramedic Response Unit launched in July 2024 to provide care in Lowertown, including wellness checks, naloxone distribution, and community outreach. 

The Ottawa Paramedic Service continues to work with local hospitals and other partners on strategies to further reduce hospital offload delay and level zero events.  By-law and Regulatory Services reports strong performance in 2024  The Committee received an update detailing By-law and Regulatory Services’ activities and performance in 2024. The service had a successful year in which they met all priority call response targets and launched new initiatives to improve service delivery.  By-law and Regulatory Services exceeded response time targets for all three priority call types while responding to almost 98,500 service requests in 2024. Parking enforcement remained the top service request, making up 44 per cent of calls. Noise-related requests continued to trend downward, to 10 per cent, likely due to residents spending more time away from home as they returned to the office.  The service modernized tools and streamlined officers’ work through a new deployment model, providing near 24-hour service efficiently across Ottawa. In addition, the service reported good results from two pilot programs in 2024: 

• The On-Demand Accessible Taxicab pilot increased monthly rides by 21 per cent, decreased peak wait times and expanded the accessible fleet to 91 vehicles. 

• The Problematic Property pilot resulted in more than 30 enforcement actions and multiple demolition orders for nuisance properties. 

Items from this meeting will rise to Council on Wednesday, July 23.