To download a PDF of these guidelines (updated July 5 2020) click here.
To support a return to more traditional MFR Operations, the following guidance is provided to supplement the Ontario MFR Services Manual (2016):
All Patient Care should be delivered as per the Ontario MFR Scope of Practice document with the exception of CPR, where interim resuscitation guidelines have been developed and circulated previously (see Medical First Responder Resuscitation Interim Guidance)
Service requests need to be approved before agreeing to deployment or event request for MFR service
PPE, volunteer screening, cleaning & disinfection need to follow recommendations outlined below
Email: MFR Return to Service Preparation
On behalf of Mike Lawrence, MFR Program Advisor and supported by the Public Health Advisory Task Force; please see attached Memo regarding the ‘MFR Return to Service Preparation.pdf’
In order to be prepared for future MFR coverage/events please refer to the checklist within the memo.
Reminder: Information specific to SJA activities and status around COVID-19 is centralized at the following website for ready access: https://sites.google.com/sjaoc.ca/phatf
Kind Regards,
On behalf of the Chairman, CEO and PHATF of St. John Council for Ontario,
Clare Akintoye, MStJ
Email: MFR Extension - Dec 31st, 2021
On behalf of the PHATF; we extending certification for internal Volunteer MFRs to Dec 31st 2021, with a strong recommendation that virtual continuing education takes place/continues. The rationale is; with the extended lockdown for the rest of this month, we will not be in a favourable position to get those needing recertification done in time before July 1. We are extending to end of the year similar to/in alignment with WSIB. When the appropriate
time is right for the PHATF to approve in person training for MFR, we strongly encourage MFR volunteer to take their training when safe and not wait until end of year to recertify if able to do so sooner (as allowed by government regulation and current situation for the given community).
RE: COVID-19 MFR Training document & MFR Certification Extension
The Public Health Advisory Task Force advised some time ago that work was underway on a COVID-safer MFR training syllabus to allow for the national resumption of essential training. This resumption was announced in last week’s Branch conference call and has apparently caused some confusion. Despite the fact that the COVID-safer MFR training program is now available, it is currently only available as a public course for those requiring this essential training for employment.
All SJA internal AMFRs certificates (including AMFR and HCP) have now been extended through June 30, 2021, and there is presently no need to conduct internal recertification's. Similarly, no new internal training courses are being approved during the current lockdown. The Task Force will have new direction once the lockdown is rescinded. In the meantime, if you have a special situation that you feel requires training of an internal AMFR, please feel free to request this through the Task Force at coronavirus@sjaoc.ca
Information specific to SJA activities and status around COVID-19 is centralized at the following website for ready access: https://sites.google.com/sjaoc.ca/phatf
Kind Regards,
On behalf of the Chairman, CEO and PHATF of St. John Council for Ontario,
Clare Akintoye, MStJ
We have granted an extension for certification of MFR Volunteers to March 31st 2021. This applies to those MFR Volunteers that had their certification expire after March 1st 2020. We will again look at the need to further extend certification if need be, sometime in the first quarter of 2021.
Chris Schmied, Manager of Learning, Council for Ontario
To Branch Manager/Executive Directors - For information sharing with your MFR Units and Leaders,
On behalf of the Public Health Advisory Task Force;
Update for MFR Certification.
As the WSIB has granted until December 31st as an extension for anyone whose certificate expired on or after March 1st 2020, we have approval to provide the MFR Certification the exact same extension, to Dec 31st 2020.
We acknowledge that skill degradation can be of concern and consistent with previous messaging that essential in person training can occur following PHATF guidance and checklist completion.
For initial certification, work is ongoing to scope out final course delivery in our new COVID world.
The PHATF advise not run public MFR courses at the moment, therefore recommendation to postpone until further notice.
Information specific to SJA activities and status around COVID-19 is centralized at the following website for ready access: https://sites.google.com/sjaoc.ca/phatf
On behalf of the Chairman, CEO and PHATF of St. John Council for Ontario,
Kind Regards,
Clare Akintoye, Manager, Community Services
Oxygen shall be administered following normal procedures as indicated following the Oxygen Administration Protocol – Aug 2019 document. If required, oxygen should not exceed 15LPM via non-rebreather mask or 6LPM via nasal cannula
Suctioning of the oral cavity shall occur following normal procedures
Resuscitation shall be provided according to the current Medical First Responder Resuscitation Interim Guidance
Naloxone shall be administered following normal procedures as required
All patients shall be screened using the SJAO Patient Screening Tool
The Public Health Advisory Task Force (PHATF) for Ontario Council still retains advisory and operational approval/oversight for all activities related to COVID-19 for SJA volunteers in Ontario. The PHATF provides assessment, oversight, advice and direction for all volunteer operations during this time. Currently, all service requests for community service are coordinated through the PHATF – for those requests related to COVID-19, the PHATF provides the framework for response and reporting using principles of Incident Management System (IMS) and Incident Command.
For community service requests unrelated to COVID-19 response, the PHATF will review and provide advice to individual MFR or Community Service Units but allow for local unit control of event request.
Until otherwise communicated, all community service requests require review and permission to proceed from PHATF using the SJAO Public Health Advisory Task Force – Request for Deployment
The required PPE for all MFR operations, once approved for deployment, consists of the following:
Surgical face mask to be worn at all times (ASTM level 2 or 3) where physical distancing of 2m (or 6 feet) cannot be maintained (eg. While two members are driving to an event in SJA vehicle, or while inside and social distancing is difficult to maintain)
Disposable gloves (eg. Nitrile) for all patient care
Eye/face protection (eg. Face shield or goggles) for all patient care
Consider disposable isolation gown, if available, for any instance where there is a risk of blood or body fluid splash/contamination (not required for routine patient care or minor bleeding) or when patient fails Screening tool
See interim guidance for CPR document for specific advice related to resuscitation
Reusable/cloth facemasks should not be worn for MFR events/service requests – however, they can be considered for non-event use like meetings, training, and other non-patient care activities
Prior to any event/community service request, ALL volunteers are required to perform self-screening to ensure safety using the most recent version of the SJAO Member Screening Tool.
See the PPE and disinfection page for most recent guidance/advice: https://sites.google.com/sjaoc.ca/phatf/ppe-and-disinfection
The PHATF continues to recommend meeting in person only to complete essential training, such as donning and doffing of PPE or completing certification requirements that are necessary to continue to support operations.
If you wish to request permission to meet in person for any other purpose, please complete the request form at the following link: https://forms.gle/ruorZo5K9YHxK2Ls5
The following documents are required information, may be accessed on this site, and are linked below: