San Francisco to Hire Part-time Medics

San Francisco will he hiring on-call paramedics to help alleviate the troubled EMS system.

The effort serves as a stop-gap until additional paramedics are hired or trained and ambulances are purchased,  the San Francisco Examiner reports.

Fire Chief Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White has been under fire because the city requires a 10 minute on-scene time for ambulances on Code 3 emergencies, but the average is 12.74 minutes. 

The per-diem paramedics will start in the spring.

The city approved the purchase of 19 new ambulances after Hayes-White said the older fleet, and a shortage of paramedics are slowing responses. 

Over Labor Day weekend, one resident waited two hours for an ambulance.