The Sask Party Government is adding paramedic staff to Regina.

A total of 24.5 new positions will be phased in over the next three months.

“We’ve heard from residents and paramedics that we need to do more to improve ambulance response times,” Health Minister Paul Merriman said. “We are committed to providing Saskatchewan patients with timely access to emergency medical services. This increase in Regina EMS resource capacity will help patients and better balance the workload for our paramedics.”

In a news release, the government says EMS call volumes increased 14 percent between 2021 and 2022.

The new paramedic positions will help to staff two additional ambulances in Regina along with two additional smaller paramedic response units.

A paramedic response unit has one advanced care paramedic who can help primary care paramedics on more complex calls or can arrive at an emergency before the ambulance and begin providing care immediately until the ambulance arrives.

Two new EMS coordinators will also be hired to support paramedics throughout the province with clinical education, training and quality assurance.

The government has the funding for the positions, but it remains to be seen if it can hire people, in an era of chronic staffing shortages.