A report was released by the Manitoba Association of Health Care from December 2021 that showed the shortages of rural Manitoba paramedics.

The report showed there were almost 20,000 hours of unstaffed ambulances in the rural part of the province which was up from 17,000 in the fall.

The shortages have led to a large number of paramedics having to work anywhere from 14-16 hour shifts as well as some having to work up to 20-23 hours in a row in order to offer the care patients need.

The length of response times has also suffered, increasing by as high as 35 percent longer since 2018.

Shared Health is currently working to increase the educational capacity for paramedic training as well as working with the College of Paramedics to get recent graduates licenses to get them into the workforce sooner.