Overburdened paramedics, a lack of available ambulances and longer deployment times: Quebec’s ambulance union is again calling on the government to create multiple work teams to meet growing demand in the region.
The number of paramedics on duty 24 hours a day has remained unchanged since 2019. In an aging and increasingly populous area, there are still between 70 and 72 residents.
“People need to know that several times a day in Quebec City an ambulance is not available when it is needed. “It can’t be worse,” complains the vice president of the Association of Prehospital Workers, Ariane Bernier.
His organization is asking the Ministry of Health and Human Services (MSSS) to provide the necessary funds so that about thirty more ambulance drivers in about fifteen vehicles can join those who are struggling to keep up on the scene.
The president and vice-president of the Association of Prehospital Workers, Frédéric Maheux and Ariane Bernier, and the president of the Central Council of Quebec-Chaudière-Appalaches of the CSN, Barbara Poirier, implored the Quebec government to increase funding for emergency medical services in Quebec to meet the To ensure the safety of patients, whose numbers continue to rise. Photo Le Journal de Québec Vincent Desbiens
“It’s a difficult situation for our members, who often don’t even have time to eat during the day. But above all it is an alarming observation for patients who need to be treated as a priority and for whom the speed of response is a matter of life and death,” emphasizes the president of the union, Frédéric Maheux.
Explosion of emergencies
According to the Prehospital Association, the number of calls increased by 7% between 2022 and 2023. The number of “priority one” calls, meaning there is a risk of death if the person is not treated quickly, would have increased by 30% over the same period.
In a “normal working environment,” an ambulance team should always be available to respond immediately to emergency situations from one of the six service points in the area. Between calls, they should be able to relax or eat there after a disturbing event.
“We are stretching the rubber band to the maximum,” argues Mr. Maheux. […] It’s as if there was no one in the fire station who could save people in a fire. We need to be able to hire enough staff to accommodate them at our service points in addition to those on the street. »
No labor shortage
Unlike many regions in Quebec, it is not a lack of staff that is causing the overload of the 380 members of the Association of Prehospital Workers in the capital.
“We have all our people and we even have more paramedics than there are spaces available in Quebec. The problem is we don’t have the budget to add hours, so we’re experiencing the same thing as elsewhere: the wait for an ambulance is getting longer and the teams are exhausted. It is the cause that is different,” explains Frédéric Maheux.
According to MSSS data, paramedics experience work overload when their clinical utilization exceeds 90%. This means they should typically spend about 10% of their time taking a dinner break or disinfecting and collecting their intervention equipment.
“In 2021, the clinical use rate was approximately 126% and it has continued to increase since then. This means that, on average, everyone does almost 40% more work each day. It can not go on like this. “We don’t want to wait until there are deaths,” concludes the man who has been working in the prehospital emergency area for more than 20 years.
Congested ambulance zones in Quebec in line with recommended clinical occupancy of 90%
Capitale-Nationale – Quebec Metropolitan Region: 126.9%
Laurentides – Sainte-Thérèse: 117.1%
Montreal and Laval: 115.7%
Laurentides – Saint-Eustache: 108.6%
Montérégie – Metropolitan Longueuil: 105.8%
Montérégie – Valleyfield: 101.4%
Lanaudière – Joliette: 100.9%
Estrie – Sherbrooke: 100.6%
Montérégie – La Prairie: 99.4%
Laurentides – Saint-Jérôme: 98.8%
Montérégie – Rigaud-Dorion: 94.9%
Montérégie – Saint-Hyacinthe: 93%
*Data comes from the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2020-2021 provincial classification of workload by emergency service zone.
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