Lambton County paramedics won't respond to 'non-emergency calls' starting Saturday

County of Lambtonparamedics will not be responding to "non-emergency calls" starting Saturday at 12:01 a.m., after what they call months of "stalled negotiations."

Nearly 150 paramedics will be working under the essential service agreement.

Those non-emergency calls include patient transfers between hospital and home, non-urgent transfers between hospitals and scheduled specialist appointments.

The issue at the centre of the negotiations with County of LambtonEmergency Medical Services is providing benefits to paramedics who take an early retirement until they reach 65.

"Alot of the stresses of the job, both physically and mentally, often lead to paramedics retiring early," said Corey Johnson,head of strategic communications with Services Employees International Union (SEIU)Healthcare.

He said the "bridging of benefits" is common across a lot of paramedic units in the province.

These paramedics cover Bridgen, Corunna, Forest, Grand Bend, Petrolia, Sarnia, BrightsGrove, Thedford and Watford.

Johnson said about 30attended the LambtonCounty council meeting Oct. 3 to ask their employer to return to the negotiations.

A new bargaining date has been set for Nov. 15.