The Reason Behind Slow Ambulances

NEWS

The Reason Behind Slow Ambulances

AYA HAFEDA Staff Writer

On Friday the second, an incident near Dawson College occurred. An elderly woman of 79 years was leaving the metro to cross Atwater Avenue when losing balance with her cane, she fell face first on the burning concrete. More than a dozen people from across the street, sitting on the nearby picnic tables, or walking to the forum center rushed over. The woman sat all bloody with her missing two front teeth on the ground. Blood rushing out of both her nose and mouth, everyone was in dismay. Phones were pulled out and three people called an ambulance describing the scene in panicked voices. Over 45 minutes later, only four people were left to assist the elderly woman. All 5 were sitting baking on the street, hoping to see the familiar ambulance car or to hear a siren soon, but no one came. Two more calls were made complaining, “We have been here for almost an hour; this isn’t normal.”

As passionate as the paramedics in Montreal and Laval may be to complete their duties, their capacities are limited due to the lack of workers in the paramedic field.

According to Emergency.Net, Urgences-santé Ambulance Service possesses 138 ambulances vehicles that cover both the island of Montreal and Laval which is about an area of 744 square kilometers. In both territories combined, there is a population of 2.3 million people. The area of Montreal has a number of 19 hospitals while Laval has only 2.

Issues with slow ambulances have occurred before in Montreal and Laval. On July 11th, 2022, a woman named Thérèse Pardiac fell on her leg and suffered a hip injury. When her family called the ambulance, her injury was classified as level 4, therefore it took no precedence over the other calls. The elderly woman of 91 years waited 7 hours with her family for an ambulance. When the paramedics made it to her home, it was far too late and she had died.

A similar case took place in Montreal on May 14th, 2022. 65 year old Myron Cybriwski called the ambulance informing them he had injured his head about a week ago and was still in pain. According to his daughter, there were no questions concerning his living situation, only ones asking whether he was bleeding or had caught covid. Although they informed him an ambulance might take up to 7 hours to get to his home, the man waited another 13 minutes before composing a second call and 2 hours for a third one. The ambulance had taken 11 hours to reach Myron Cybriwski and by then they were too late.

As infuriating as the situation is, they are certainly not to blame for these incidents. As passionate as the paramedics in Montreal and Laval may be to complete their duties, their capacities are limited due to the lack of workers in the paramedic field.

According to CBC news, the demand for paramedics is high but the number of employees is only getting lower. Although the official site of Quebec classifies the job prospects for the years of 2021-2025 as “very good”, there are still 6000 jobs left unfilled in the province of Quebec and 600 in the island of Montreal. Out of the approximate 891 paramedics in Montreal, 84% of them work full time but that number is not large enough to cover incidents in the area. On June 25, 2022, CTV News Montreal stated that there were 26 ambulances not in use in Montreal and Laval due to staff shortage.

This histogram demonstrates the salaries for paramedics across Canada, with Yukon on top with 77,074$ per year and Quebec at the shortest interval with an annual salary of 57, 476$ with a starting salary of around 23$ an hour. The job demands for the territories are undetermined, nevertheless, second on the list is the province of Ontario with a yearly salary of 74 675$, whose job prospect is much lower than Quebec’s. When facing a high demand, changes need to be done. In order for there to be more paramedics in the province of Quebec, wages need to increase.

The Fédération de la Santé et des Services sociaux, an organization representing over 3000 paramedics, had come to an agreement with the government of Quebec last May. According to the government, this accord will work on “an improvement in the remuneration and work conditions of the most important group of ambulance workers in Quebec, but also improve accessibility to front-line services for the population”

There have not been any major changes with regards to the issues paramedics in Montreal and Laval face; however, with the acknowledgement of the government, it is a major step forward and hopefully the situation will improve.

Photo VIA CTV NEWS