How long is too long to wait for an ambulance on the Island of Montreal?
When you call 911 for an ambulance, you expect it to arrive quickly. But one former paramedic says timing could depend on where you are on the island.
Data gathered by Hal Newman, the founder of primary healthcare blog The Last Ambulance, suggests that if you lived on the West Island in 2022, you waited an average of 13 minutes for a priority-one call. For calls to downtown, patients waited for 10 minutes.
"A priority-one patient who could be critically ill or injured (faced) a 13 minute wait," said Newman. "Thirteen minutes -- that's a long time."
Urgences-Sante says that while the numbers may be concerning on the surface, it's important to look at the entire emergency response plan. It says that, in high priority cases, its response always includes a first responder who should take around eight minutes to arrive anywhere on the island.
"They are able to give you what you need in terms of care within the first few minutes of the life threatening situation,” said Chantal Comeau, spokesperson for Urgences-Sante. “And of course, every call also needs an ambulance to be dispatched.”
But Newman says a paramedic, who has more specialized training than a first-responder, should be available to take over in less time.
"(A) priority-one emergency would be someone in respiratory distress, someone who has signs and symptoms of a heart attack, someone who's been involved in a car accident and has visible trauma," said Newman.
Patients' rights advocate Paul Brunet says better access to home care could decrease wait times.
"We've suggested, like they do in Verdun, to go and meet the patients at home,” he said. “Guess what? We save hospitalizations, we save ambulance transportation, we save beds. What are we waiting for?”
Urgences-Sante says its overall wait times have decreased in recent months, and that it's always working to cut them down even more.
In the meantime, Newman is urging West Islanders to contact their elected officials.
"If we were to do this on a proactive basis, we'd go to our elected reps and say, ‘Hey, I live on the West Island. I pay taxes. I am part of Metro Montreal, why do I have a 13 minute response time?’"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with Maple Leafs, dead at 79
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire doubles in size as 3,000-plus ordered to evacuate
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
Dutch contestant kicked out of Eurovision hours before tension-plagued song contest final
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Haitians demand the resignation and arrest of the country's police chief after a new gang attack
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'We have no judge for you': Man's assault charges dropped weeks before trial due to lack of judges in Toronto
A man who was accused of sexually and physically assaulting a woman had his charges dropped in April, just weeks before he was set to stand trial in Toronto, due to a lack of judges in the region.