About Paramedic Services

Halton Region Paramedic Services offers several options for community groups to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). It will deliver the following courses to a group of 12 to 25 people with access to a room suitable for teaching:

• HeartSaver CPR
  An introduction to The Chain of Survival plus practical instruction in performing adult CPR and choking first aid techniques.
• HeartSaver CPR for Older Adults
  A look at The Chain of Survival from an older adult perspective.
• Basic Rescuer Level CPR
  An in-depth look at The Chain of Survival plus practical training in infant, child, and adult CPR and choking first aid techniques.
• Infant Injury Prevention, First Aid and CPR
  Ideal for parents and caregivers with children aged newborn to six years.
• Lunch’n Learn - The Chain of Survival and Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) in our Communities
  An interactive talk on how to initiate the Chain of Survival and the PAD program to respond to a cardiac emergency.

Courses are offered on weekdays, evenings and weekends. At least two weeks' notice is required for rescheduling. Class time and cost vary per course. To learn more about CPR training and how you can arrange for a training course, please call 311.

All paramedics must take a two-year college level Primary Care Paramedic course. Following successful completion of the required college diploma, prospective candidates must undergo a certification process administered by the Ontario Ministry of Health, before becoming paramedics. To learn more, visit our paramedic services recruitment page.

All paramedics provide basic life support, and some advanced life support skills. All paramedics provide cardiac defibrillation and the administration of symptom relief medications.

An Advanced Care Paramedic is trained to provide additional Advanced Life Support (ALS) skills. Advanced Care Paramedics can perform a number of controlled medical acts and provide a wider range of pre-hospital treatment options to patients.

In Halton Region, emergency medical services are provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week from 12 stations located throughout the region in Burlington, Halton Hills (Georgetown & Acton), Oakville and Milton. The service includes more than 270 paramedics with a fleet of 34 emergency response vehicles. Halton Region Paramedic Services responds to over 50,000 calls for service annually servicing over 580,000 Halton Region residents.

• Medical direction and regular training provided by Sunnybrook Center for Prehospital Medicine (external link) ensures that paramedic skills are current and well practiced.
• Halton Region Paramedic Services has a number of tactical paramedics who work closely with the Halton Region Police Tactical Rescue Unit (external link) to provide emergency medical support during high-risk situations.
• Halton Region Paramedic Services also deploys a Bike Medic patrol to various community events held annually throughout the region, which enables paramedics to respond to emergencies in small, contained areas that might not be accessible by an ambulance vehicle.

The Bike Medic program enables paramedics to respond to emergencies in small, contained areas that might not be accessible by an ambulance vehicle. Bike Medics carry equipment that allows them to treat the same life-threatening emergencies as a regular paramedic crew.

Bike Medics are a regular feature at large community events in Halton Region, such as the annual Sound of Music festival in Burlington and Waterfront festival in Oakville. They also promote bike safety to children and the public.

Halton’s Public Access Defibrillation program focuses on coordinating the placement of Introduction to Paramedic services Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in strategic locations throughout the community where there is a chance someone could suffer a cardiac arrest. To learn more about this program, visit the section on public access defibrillation.

Paramedics also provide education about:

• CPR
• Injury Prevention – Paramedics participate in programs such as RiskWatch, which is delivered to elementary school-level children. They also participate in CHAT (Community & Hospital Against Trauma), an awareness program designed to inform teens about the dangers of risk-taking behaviours such as speeding, cliff jumping, mixing alcohol/drugs with driving, swimming, etc.

Paramedics work closely with the Early Years program to provide education for new parents on prevention of childhood injuries and first aid and CPR techniques. They also regularly conduct presentations/demonstrations at schools and community events across Halton Region.

Lawyers must provide the following three items in order to obtain an Ambulance Call Record for their client:

1. A request letter that provides the following information:
   • Patient’s name
   • Patient’s date of birth
   • Date of the incident
   • Time of the incident
   • Location of the incident
   • If patient was transported and to which hospital
   • Any additional details pertaining to the incident
2. A signed, original authorization form from the patient providing consent to release the Ambulance Call Record to the lawyer’s office.
3. A cheque in the amount of $77 made payable to “Halton Region”. Fee is valid until December 31, 2024 and is subject to change January 1, 2025.

Once the Ambulance Call Record has been located, a copy of the record will be couriered to your office. Paramedic Services is required to respond to all requests within 30 days. Please contact our office if you have not received the Ambulance Call Record within 30 days of sending your request.

In the event an Ambulance Call Record cannot be located, a letter will be mailed to the law firm and, with few exceptions, the cheque will be returned.

All requests can be mailed to:

• Halton Region Paramedic Services
  Attn: Operations
  1179 Bronte Road
  Oakville, ON
  L6M 4G3
  Tel: 905-825-6000 ext. 7112

Patients who would like to obtain a copy of their own Ambulance Call Record can do so by providing the following two items:

1. An Ambulance Call Record Request letter (PDF file) that provides the following information:
   • Patient’s name
   • Patient’s date of birth
   • Patient’s telephone number
   • Date of the incident
   • Time of the incident
   • Location of the incident
   • If patient was transported and to which hospital
   • Any additional details pertaining to the incident

2. A cheque in the amount of $77 made payable to “Halton Region”. Fee is valid until December 31, 2024 and is subject to change January 1, 2025.  If this fee causes financial hardship, you may request a waiver of the fee, however we may ask for proof to support this request.

Paramedic Services is required to respond to all requests within 30 days. Please contact our office if you have not received the Ambulance Call Record within 30 days of sending your request.

Once the Ambulance Call Record has been located, we will notify you that it is ready for pick up. At the time of pick up, you must present one piece of government identification (must be photo ID). The identification will be photocopied for our records.

If you would prefer to have the Ambulance Call Record sent to your home via courier, please enclose with your letter a photocopy of one piece of your government identification (must be photo ID).

Qualifying government identification is as follows:

• Driver’s Licence (front and back)
• Passport
• Health Card (front and back)
• other federal, provincial, territorial or municipal identification card
• Military identification
• Certificate of Indian Status
• Old Age Security card
• Federal, provincial, territorial or municipal employee identification card

Please note, in the event an Ambulance Call Record cannot be located, a letter will be mailed to you and the cheque will be returned.

All requests can be mailed to:

• Halton Region Paramedic Services
  Attn: Operations
  1179 Bronte Road
  Oakville, ON L6M 4G3
  Tel: 905-825-6000, ext. 7112

Persons who would like to obtain a copy of an Ambulance Call Record on behalf of an individual or a child under 16 can do so by providing the following three items:

1. A Patient Ambulance Call Record Request letter (PDF file) that provides the following information:
   • Patient’s name
   • Patient’s date of birth
   • Patient’s telephone number
   • Date of the incident
   • Time of the incident
   • Location of the incident
   • If patient was transported and to which hospital
   • Any additional details pertaining to the incident
2. Legal documentation to show that the requestor is entitled to obtain this health information on behalf of the patient. For a child, this is a copy of their birth certificate or passport. For any other living individual, this is a Power of Attorney for Personal Care or Guardianship of the person. In the case of a deceased person, this is a Will naming the requestor as Executor, or a notarized letter stating that the requestor is assuming responsibility for the estate if there is no Will.
3. A cheque in the amount of $77 made payable to “Halton Region”. Fee is valid until December 31, 2024 and is subject to change January 1, 2025. If this fee causes financial hardship, you may request a waiver of the fee, however we may ask for proof to support this request.

Paramedic Services is required to respond to all requests within 30 days. Please contact our office if you have not received the Ambulance Call Record within 30 days of sending your request.

Once the Ambulance Call Record has been located, we will notify you that it is ready for pick up. At the time of pick up, you must present one piece of government identification (must be photo ID). The identification will be photocopied for our records.

If you would prefer to have the Ambulance Call Record sent to your home via courier, please enclose with your letter a photocopy of one piece of your government identification (must be photo ID).

Qualifying government identification is as follows:

• Driver’s Licence (front and back)
• Passport
• Health Card (front and back)
• other federal, provincial, territorial or municipal identification card
• Military identification
• Certificate of Indian Status
• Old Age Security card
• Federal, provincial, territorial or municipal employee identification card

Please note, in the event an Ambulance Call Record cannot be located, a letter will be mailed to you and the cheque will be returned.

All requests can be mailed to:

• Halton Region Paramedic Services
  Attn: Operations
  1179 Bronte Road
  Oakville, ON L6M 4G3
  Tel: 905-825-6000, ext. 7112