The President of NAPE is calling the situation involving paramedics in Whitbourne “a fiasco.”

Jerry Earle was responding to Eastern Health’s decision to sever its contract with Smith’s Ambulance which served the Whitbourne and Trinity-Conception areas.

Owner Wade Smith is adamant they did not breach their contract.

Monique McGrath, a young paramedic with Smith’s, says the 15 employees found out through a Facebook post by Eastern Health last week even before the company itself could notify them.

Earle says Newfoundland and Labrador cannot afford to lose a single EMS position. He says the union started learning about the situation through social media around the same time as the company and its employees. He calls Wade Smith a “reputable” EMS service provider.

The union was officially notified the following day that metro-area ambulance services would be filling the gap, something Earle says took him aback. He says he immediately started taking calls from local paramedics.

He says the union started recieving calls asking how they could possibly provide service to the area when they’re already having trouble meeting the demand in the metro region.