Guelph’s paramedics are getting to calls faster than they have in the past, but they’re still not meeting city-set targets for the most urgent emergencies.

For Level 1 calls – cases of cardiac arrest or other medical emergencies requiring resuscitation – the provincial government has set a response time standard of eight minutes.

Last year, councillors set a target of meeting that standard for 65 per cent of Level 1 emergencies.

According to a report prepared for city councillors this month, Guelph Wellington Paramedic Service crews reached that target on 61.7 per cent of calls within city limits.

Paramedics were closer to the targets set for the less urgent situations in Levels 2 through 4, and actually exceeded their target when it came to Level 5 calls (non-urgent issues such as sore throats) – responding within 20 minutes in 96.2 per cent of cases, handily beating the city’s target of 90 per cent.

The numbers do represent an improvement over 2014, which the report credits to the use of the Delhi Street Recreation Centre as a downtown staging area for paramedics, as well as a the addition of a new emergency response vehicle.

Response time targets for 2017 will be set Monday night, with city staff suggesting that councillors maintain the existing targets.

Monday night will also see councillors vote on whether to go ahead with a master plan that will guide the city’s paramedic services through the next decade.

A consultant’s report prepared for councillors forecasts a 43.5 increase in demand for all emergency responses by 2026 – on top of the 34 per increase in call volume paramedics have seen since 2009.

According to the report, meeting that demand – both in Guelph and in Wellington County – will require more paramedics and more ambulances, as well as relocating some existing ambulance stations.

The report calls for one new ambulance to be in service by 2020, as well as the introduction of 24/7 ambulance coverage in Erin and Guelph/Eramosa, and a new fire station in downtown Guelph that could also house ambulances.

By 2023, the report wants to see the current ambulance station on Elmira Road relocated – again likely in conjunction with a new fire station, replacing the one currently on Imperial Road – as well as a new base for paramedics in Rockwood and increased coverage in Drayton and Fergus.

Harriston and Mount Forest would see relocated and expanded paramedic services by 2026, based on the consultant’s recommendations.

Councillors’ vote on Monday will not be on any of the specific proposals, only on whether to move the master plan process ahead.

If approved, a more detailed plan would be presented to councillors next spring.