Ontario paramedics pilot drones to deliver defibrillators and meds faster

Peel Regional Paramedic Services, which covers Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon west of Toronto, has begun a medical-drone pilot aimed at shortening the gap between a 911 call and the arrival of emergency crews. The drones can carry automated external defibrillators, epinephrine auto-injectors and other critical medications, targeting time-sensitive emergencies such as cardiac arrest, opioid overdose or severe allergic reactions.

When a caller reports a qualifying incident, dispatch operators assess factors like location, weather and drone availability before launching a drone, and then guide the bystander through device use until paramedics reach the scene. The project, which started this month, extends research that started in 2017 under Dr. Sheldon Cheskes at the Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Medicine and focuses on serving rural, remote and Indigenous communities across Ontario. Officials stress that the drones are a supplement, not a replacement, for traditional emergency responders.