Firefighter paramedics doing COVID testing at City Hall

Some Saskatoon first responders are the ones responsible for COVID-19 testing at City Hall.

The City of Saskatoon and fire chief Morgan Hackl confirmed in an email that firefighter paramedics from the Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) are responsible for mandatory rapid point-of-care testing being offered to staff at various locations, including City Hall.

The testing is meant to offer “another layer of protection for staff safety” and “assist with the early identification of non-symptomatic or pre-symptomatic cases” to help limit the spread of COVID-19, according to Hackl.

Any city employees reporting to or visiting a worksite are required to submit to regular rapid testing. Any employees who have provided proof of full vaccination have not had to be tested.

An information report from the City of Saskatoon details that the city implemented the testing option in partnership with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). The city confirmed the tests have been provided by the SHA as part of its Test to Protect program, and are being administered to city employees who have not shown proof of vaccination to their employer.

The province implemented new regulations on Oct. 1 that the city aligned with, where the cost of all asymptomatic testing became the responsibility of the person needing a negative result. The individual is also responsible for getting this testing done outside of work hours.

In an email, the city said it partnered with the SHA in the spring to provide that testing to city staff. It was identified at that time that Saskatoon firefighter paramedics are an “internal resource” for the city who could provide this testing.

Voluntary rapid testing was first offered in May to city staff and the SFD has been involved in the rapid testing process “from the start,” the city said.

“(The firefighter paramedics) do this type of work already … They have patient contact on a regular basis in the workplace and they do emergent and non-emergent work connected to this,” Hackl said.

In the past, firefighter paramedics have provided flu shots to city staff. They received further training from the SHA to conduct nasal swab tests and that, paired with the confidentiality required for their day-to-day work and their skills with documentation, made them a good option for the task, the city and Hackl explained.

The shifts are reportedly voluntary and firefighter paramedics who choose to assist with testing do so outside of their regular shift hours. They’re reportedly compensated with overtime pay from the city.

As of Nov. 15, all city employees will have to provide either proof of full vaccination or evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result once every seven days at their own cost and on their own time. On that date, rapid point-of-care testing will not be provided anymore for the purpose of providing a negative COVID-19 test to the city.

When asked about concerns of burnout, both Hackl and Jay Protz, an executive member with the Saskatoon Firefighters Local 80, said the shifts are voluntary and firefighter paramedics who don’t feel up to the extra shifts aren’t required to work them.

“It was on days off and we had a large number of staff sign up for the training and have had lots of interest from our staff taking part in this valuable program,” Hackl explained.

Hackl said about 100 of their 140 fire paramedics volunteered to take part in the extra training and work the extra optional shifts. With so many working, he said it spreads the time out among staff, making fear of burnout low.

“It’s all about safety and keeping our members safe as well, so if a member doesn’t feel like they can do the overtime or they need the time off, they’re not obligated to do it,” Protz said.

“We would like to continue working towards a safe and efficient resolve of the pandemic, so we want to support our health-care system … We want to protect the city but we also want to protect ourselves as well. We can’t help somebody if we can’t look after our own.”