Local paramedics upgrading violence protection training
Posted Nov 1, 2025 06:00:00 AM.
Last Updated Nov 1, 2025 01:19:46 PM.
Amid increasing reports of violence and threats towards first responders, the Region of Waterloo Paramedic Service is taking a proactive step to protect its workers.
The region’s paramedics will be undergoing intense training on how to de-escalate dangerous situations and how to properly address threats or acts of violence.
Chief of the paramedic service, John Riches, was a guest on The Mike Farwell Show and said a paramedic’s job is already incredibly difficult; the last thing they need is to feel threatened.
“I can’t overstate, when people are subjected to these types of traumatic, violent, assaultive-type situations on a daily basis, it affects their mental health,” he said. “And when it affects their mental health, then that means their contentment being at work, their ability to do the job, because there are a lot of demands put on paramedics on every call they respond to, is impacted.”
He added that stress on paramedics is hindering retention rates while at the same time causing fewer people to look at paramedicine as a career.
“Ten years ago we would have 400 applicants for 30 jobs. Now, we’re seeing a couple of hundred applicants for 30 or 40 jobs, but also because council has supported such growth in our service, we’re hiring a lot right now.”
The training the paramedics will undergo promises to be extensive.
Nathan Hughes is a training specialist with the service. He said a significant portion of the training will put paramedics in real-world scenarios.
He said training gets paramedics “to work in and around violent situations that are simulated in our safe training bubble, so that way paramedics have experiences to draw on when they do encounter violence in the field and can practice some of those de-escalation strategies where there are clear objectives for paramedics to learn from.”
Riches added that another major component of the training involves a new reporting system so management can better learn what paramedics are dealing with in the field.
