Paramedics at Sault Area Hospital (SAH) are efficiently transferring patients and returning to duty quicker than most emergency services across Ontario, as per a recent report. The District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board (DSSAB) has collaborated with the hospital to minimize ambulance offload delays, enhancing emergency response times and ensuring ambulance availability.
Offload delays occur when paramedics must wait at the hospital until patients can be safely handed over to the emergency department staff. Lengthy delays prevent ambulances from promptly responding to other emergencies in the Sault area, creating potential service gaps during critical situations.
Stephanie Pagnucco, DSSAB Board Chair, highlighted previous challenges where all ambulances could have been tied up at the hospital during major incidents, underscoring the necessity for change. To address this issue, SAH and Sault Paramedics partnered with Optimus SBR, an independent management consulting firm, earlier this year to assess offload procedures and identify areas for enhancement.
By November 2025, ambulance offloading at its peak performance level to date, with only nine patients experiencing delays exceeding 30 minutes compared to 228 patients in November 2024. The average offload time decreased from 36 minutes to slightly over 10 minutes, with the 90th percentile offload time now at 14 minutes, well below the provincial standard.
Pagnucco emphasized the gradual progress achieved through the addition of a triage nurse, close cooperation with the hospital, and resource optimization strategies. The SAH and DSSAB are committed to implementing further recommendations from Optimus SBR to sustain these improvements and have devised a formal action plan for continued enhancement.
Despite the significant advancements, Pagnucco stressed the importance of maintaining momentum and striving for continuous improvement, emphasizing the need to sustain a high operational efficiency level to ensure optimal emergency response capabilities.