It's a big day for Paramedics in Southern Manitoba.

The Manitoba Government announced that it's investing money to add 35 full-time rural paramedic positions in the Province. Twelve of the new positions will be strategically placed in Southern Health-Sante Sud, thirteen other positions will be filled in the Northern Regional Health Authority, and ten new paramedic positions were announced for Prairie Mountain Health last week.

Minister of Health Seniors and Active living for Manitoba Cameron Friesen talks about the meaning behind the recent hires.

"The Manitoba Government made a commitment to strengthen the emergency medical system in Rural Manitoba," Friesen adds. "Our move has been to support a 24-7 professional EMS service and hiring more Paramedics is part of the investment."

These new positions will support the 24-7 operation of EMS stations and be available to enhance the quality of care.

Friesen also notes that these hires will reduce response wait times

"The target is for 90 per cent of the Manitoba population to have a medical response within 30 minutes when it comes to emergency medical response," Friesen adds. "We met and exceeded that target last year but we can still improve."

All 35 positions will be filled within the next few months.