Organization of Health Services Reserves

Health care support at home and abroad

With over 1,500 members, the Health Services Reserve provides essential health services support to the Canadian Forces at units and clinics, at home and abroad.

Many reservists have full-time careers outside the Canadian Forces (CF) in a wide range of civilian health care professions, including medicine, nursing and social work, while others are full-time students or members of other trades or professions. Reservists are typically employed in Primary Reserve units located in 14 cities across Canada or on the national Primary Reserve List.

Health Services Primary Reserve Units

The majority of reservists employed in one of the 14 Canadian Forces Health Services (CFHS) Primary Reserve units, commit to serve approximately 38 days per year, mainly on weeknights and/or weekends between September and May. In addition to unit activities, reserve personnel can take advantage of unique military and health care related training opportunities (professional development courses, medical training exercises) as well as employment opportunities (short-term clinical replacements, or longer periods of full-time employment primarily during the summer period at various base/camp locations). In the course of the annual training cycle, the focus is on providing CFHS Reservists with exciting medical & dental training within a military context.

Presently, CFHS Primary Reserve units have positions for various types of clinicians as well as health care administrators, paramedics and dental personnel. Reserve paramedical personnel who are not civilian trained and employed, are trained, as a minimum, to the level of Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) as part of the ongoing initiative to revitalize the Health Services Reserve. The EMR basic skill set, delivered in accordance with recognized civilian standards, consists of:

• Basic Trauma and Life Support;
• Pre-hospital Trauma and Life Support;
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Level C; and
• St. John Ambulance Advanced First Aid.

Canadian Forces (CF) Health Services Reserve units are located in the following areas:

• Nova Scotia:
  • 33 Field Ambulance in Halifax; and
  • 35 Field Ambulance in Sydney
• Quebec:
  • 51 Field Ambulance in Montreal;
  • 52 Field Ambulance in Sherbrooke; and
  • 55 Field Ambulance in Quebec City
• Ontario:
  • 23 Field Ambulance in Hamilton;
  • 25 Field Ambulance in Toronto;
  • 28 Field Ambulance in Ottawa; and
  • 18 Field Ambulance in Thunder Bay
• Manitoba:
  • 17 Field Ambulance in Winnipeg
• Saskatchewan:
  • 16 Field Ambulance in Regina; and
  • 16 Field Ambulance Detachment in Saskatoon
• Alberta:
  • 15 Field Ambulance in Edmonton; and
  • 15 Field Ambulance Detachment in Calgary
• British Columbia:
  • 11 Field Ambulance in Victoria; and
  • 12 Field Ambulance in Vancouver

Primary Reserve List

The CF H Svcs Primary Reserve List (CF H Svcs PRL) facilitates the employment of those licensed or certified health care professionals who cannot commit to a Reserve unit schedule, or are not geographically located near a Reserve unit. Following completion of Basic Officer Training, PRL personnel can be offered a range of employment opportunities to suit their particular circumstances. Such opportunities include: full-time duties in support of Regular Force clinics; a full six-month operational tour abroad; relieving Regular Force clinicians deployed on operational missions for specified periods of time, or as a specialist consultant to the CFHS Regular Force clinicians. The inherent flexibility of the PRL significantly enhances CFHS capability as PRL personnel can be located in any part of Canada and still provide clinical support commensurate with CFHS needs and their time availability.

For further information on the Health Services Reserves, please contact the nearest CFHS Reserve unit, the CFHS PRL at 1 866 394-4402 or a Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre at 1 800 883-6094.