A paramedic from Lévis lets his job, which he believes is more or less self-destructive due to the difficult working conditions, scream from the heart.
Olivier Lafrenière, a paramedic since 2003, sees him and his colleagues as a general disregard for the prehospital system. Added to this are the difficult working conditions repeatedly denounced by the workers, which have worsened due to the lack of staff.
“There are so many work stoppages, depressions. I was part of it, he says. Many of my colleagues are suffering, becoming increasingly impoverished and falling from exhaustion, Mr Lafrenière denounces. We pay the price for our health,” he added in an interview with the Journal.
He decided to confide and publish an open letter on social networks “because I got there,” says Olivier Lafrenière without hesitation. He specifies that this is not a union approach, while the debate on the working conditions of paramedics regularly makes the headlines.
calls for help
On his cell phone, he cautiously shows text messages in which a colleague says he tried to take his own life a few days ago. Another one – also from another ambulance company – was recently rescued from irreparable damage.
“These are messages that I get more and more often,” says the man who now works at Dessercom.
He himself endured a long period of hardship before taking the difficult leap to a resource, La Vigile. It was his birthday.
“The greatest gift,” admits Olivier, who stayed there last autumn.
He would like to point out that his employer has the best employee assistance program it can offer.
“But that’s really not enough,” he regrets. He points the finger at the provincial government, which partially funds private ambulance companies.
implications for succession
He and his colleagues also benefit from excellent group insurance, which, however, is expensive. And a walkout affects wages, which can discourage some people from asking for help. Mr. Lafrenière, 45, also notes that the next generation is already talking about leaving the profession early in their careers.
“Young people, we have no trouble hiring them, we have trouble keeping them,” he explains.
Paramedics should have salaries and conditions comparable to other emergency professions, argues Olivier Lafrenière.
“Salary recognition doesn’t prevent exposure to dramatic calls, but it does recognize the scar it leaves on our lives,” he wrote in his letter, which was shared on social media.
In his wildest dreams, he likes to say, the paramedic would love to meet Prime Minister François Legault and Health Minister Christian Dubé to share his heart’s cry with them.
“If I can touch the heart of someone with decision-making powers, I’ve made it,” he concludes.
►the guard : 1-888-315-0007 🚨 (24 of 24)
►Suicide Prevention Line: 1-866-APPELLES or suicide.ca
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