A Quebec union representing paramedics and others involved with ambulance services are sounding another alarm bell after a woman in Granby died on Tuesday, waiting more than 20 minutes after calling 911.
The FTPQ-SCFP 7300 union and said in a news release that the woman's death "has reopened the debate on the lack of ambulance resources."
"Although it is too early to establish the circumstances and causes of death with any certainty, the union representing paramedics in the Granby area is alerting the public to the general fragility of services," the release reads.
The Granby-area union said that there are just two vehicles operating at night and three during the day. Just one vehicle is in use between 6-6:30 a.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays.
The woman's death, the union said, is the third in a year in the Eastern Townships area that is connected to "a lack of resources."
The other two deaths occurred in Coaticook and Cowansville, the union said.
"One thing is certain: there are not enough teams on the ground in the Eastern Townships, so the question is not whether preventable deaths will occur, but how often," said FTPQ-SCFP 7300 president Jean Papineau. "So, starting today, we need to take action and do everything we can to ensure that we have acceptable minimums of teams on the ground at all times."
The union is reaching out to Health Minister Christian Dube and the Minister responsible for the Estrie region François Bonnardel to find a solution to the issue.
Papineau said teams of community paramedics need to be set up to respond to the least urgent calls so that trained staff are available for the most urgent calls.
"This is already in the air, but we need to move much faster and put it into action," said Papineau."Secondly, Quebec needs a pre-hospital risk plan, which would enable resources to be allocated and deployed in the best possible way. Because at present, the allocation of manpower is too random, too uneven, and that's a big part of the problem."
The FTPQ-SCFP 7300 represents 18 employers in seven regions in Quebec. It is affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
