The death of a woman on Monday in Granby is reported by paramedics who denounce, once again, the lack of personnel.
The victim had to wait about twenty minutes for an ambulance from Waterloo to arrive. Because ? Because the only one on duty that morning in Granby was already responding to a call.
Granby paramedics denounce the lack of availability of ambulances in their territory and attribute another death that occurred a few days ago to this poor coverage. Even more shocking is that the 48-year-old deceased victim lived in a very close hospital, just a few hundred meters from the emergency room.
Granby Prehospital Workers’ Brotherhood president Jean Papineau and his partner were responding to a traffic accident in Saint-Pie-de-Bagot when the call came in around 6:11 a.m. Monday morning.
As there is only one team on duty between 6am and 6.30am on Mondays and Tuesdays, an ambulance from Waterloo was called to relieve the paramedics. When the paramedics arrived about twenty minutes later, the woman was unfortunately in cardiopulmonary arrest and could not be resuscitated.
It is unacceptable that in 2023 similar situations will arise before the eyes of paramedics, who since 2016 have been asking for changes in the management of pre-hospital services.
In Granby, the number of vehicles available, three during the day and two at night, is the same as 20 years ago, while the population has increased by 30%. Of the approximately 10,000 each year, between 20 and 25% are answered by neighbors. ambulance services because their equipment is not available.
This situation will not improve unless we add more staff; Especially with congestion in emergency rooms: Paramedics say they waste precious time waiting for patients they bring to the hospital to be treated.
