Region of Waterloo paramedics are reporting improvements in a few key areas. According to a report presented to the Region of Waterloo’s Community and Health Services committee on Tuesday, there were no ‘Code Zero’ events between January and June 2026. A Code Zero is called when there are no ambulances available to respond to calls. “We had no Code Zero events for the first six months of 2026, which is really significant and, if council can remember when they were called Code Reds, this was a regular thing in this community for many, many years,” Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services Chief John Riches, told committee members. Previously, data provided to CTV News by Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services showed there were 38 Code Zeros between January and June of 2023, 33 Code Zeros in the same timeframe of 2024, and only four Code Zeros last year. Response times Paramedics in Waterloo Region are getting to calls for sudden cardiac arrests faster, but there is still room for improvement. According to a report at Region of Waterloo’s Community and Health Services committee, response times to sudden cardiac arrest calls improved by five seconds between January and June of this year. The report also looked into response times for calls on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS). According to the scale: Response times to CTAS 1 calls improved by 17 seconds, but the data shows it took 59 seconds longer for paramedics to get to CTAS 2 reports. “Calls dispatched as Orange, Yellow, and Green priorities (non lights & siren response) that return on a CTAS 2 are the primary reason for this worsening. When a call is dispatched as a Purple or Red priority (lights & siren response) the response times for CTAS 2 patients are within compliance targets,” the report said. Riches said switching to a province-wide triage tool called the Medical Priority Dispatch System has made a big difference. “We are able to keep resources back for the highest acuity patients because we can safely have patients who are a lower acuity with a more minor ailment wait for us, should they need to,” he explained. Rising call volumes Paramedics are dealing with 7.3 per cent more calls compared to the same time last year. “I think another factor is people seek healthcare by whatever means they can,” Riches said. “Sometimes they call 911 for us when they can’t get access to either a family care practitioner or something like that.” Elmira had the fastest growing number of calls, prompting the paramedic service to consider a plan that would see an ambulance stationed closer to the area using a method known as ‘post locations.’ “It’s a temporary solution so that we can, when we have the resources available, we will send an ambulance, for example, to the Elmire Fire Hall and that way there is an ambulance in Elmira to address call volumes,” Riches said.
