Dozens of ambulances not running due to paramedic labour shortage in Montreal and Laval

Emergency services in Montreal and Laval say there were around two dozen ambulances missing from the roads on the weekend, as the organizations struggle with a severe labour shortage.

Shortly after he retired as a paramedic recently, Hal Newman started tracking the number of ambulances running in the greater Montreal area on any given day.

After posting his findings on social media, he began hearing from paramedics across the province about shortages in their regions.

"It has become abundantly clear to the tune of 30-50 texts a day that the entire pre-hospital care system is dysfunctional," said Newman.

In Montreal and Laval, for example, there were fewer than 30 ambulances in action on the weekend during the overnight shift when normally there are more than 50.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, some paramedics decided to retire, and others burnt out or asked to work less overtime.

"They have been working very hard for the last two years," said Urgences-Sante spokesperson Chantal Comeau. "People are tired, stressed."

Emergency services says there's been no impact on wait times for high-priority calls, and if someone's life is at risk, an ambulance will arrive quickly.

"But of course, it means that if your situation is not urgent, the wait times will be longer," said Comeau. "We do encourage people, if it's not urgent, to call 811 to get medical advice."

Newman is not surprised so many paramedics are getting out of the profession, adding that working so many long shifts makes the work-life balance nearly impossible.

"There just really hasn't been an update to working conditions that meet the new reality of pre-hospital care, which is an aging population, the pandemic, and a very, very large increase in the volume of calls," he said.

Emergency services says it's working to hire more staff and has already hired two dozen new graduates for the summer while it tries to recruit more.

It is also doing more to promote the job.

"It is really a beautiful profession for someone who wants to give back to the community, wants to do a type of work that is really essential and really rewarding," said Comeau.

Newman says the health ministry needs to rethink pre-hospital care, and quickly, so it doesn't continue hemorrhaging staff.  

LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: Do we have enough paramedics? Chantal Comeau, spokesperson for Urgences-Santé, talks to Ken Connors about the recent shortage of paramedics