Interview with the Warden - September 11th, 2025

Thursday, 11 September 2025 11:22

Oxford County Council received the latest report regarding ambulance response times.

OXFORD COUNTY - We're meeting the mark when it comes to ambulance response times, but just barely.

Oxford County Council looked over the latest report during yesterday's meeting, and Warden Marcus Ryan talked about it on the Heart FM Morning Show today.

"Our response times are getting worse. The response time is increasing and our performance is decreasing, so we're probably going to see a recommendation from staff in the 2026 budget for more paramedics and/or another ambulance to try to maintain that response time."

This has been the trend in recent years due to our growing population and aging demographic. Warden Ryan adds that there are also lots of people suffering from homelessness, addiction, and mental health struggles that don't have access to primary care, so they utilize paramedic services.

He says the county will also look into other ways our ambulance response times could be improved, and this includes looking at different ways to partner with the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in our neighbouring communities.

Oxford County has also received $109,200 from the province's Dedicated Off-Load Nurses Program.

If you are picked up by an ambulance and taken to a local hospital, the paramedics will have to wait with you if the hospital is not ready to take over your care. Warden Marcus Ryan says that's where an off-load nurse steps in.

"This funding will pay for a nurse who would be at the hospital, dedicated to that drop-off part. They would have four beds available to them, so when the paramedics show up, they could hand you off, and that nurse would be there to look after that hand-off part."

He adds Oxford paramedics have stayed with the patient for an extra hour or two in the past, preventing them from getting back on the road and helping others.

During his interview on the Heart FM Morning Show today, Warden Ryan also talked about the following:

- What he remembers from September 11th, 2001.

- The current status of the Oxford County Administration Building following the waterline break earlier this year.

- What was discussed during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa last month.

- His excitement for the Embro Fair this weekend.

You can listen to our full interview with Warden Marcus Ryan below: