‘We’re tired, we’re burnt out’: Quebec paramedics struggle to keep up amid COVID-19 staff shortage

Quebec paramedics say they are overworked and burned out due to lack of staff out sick with COVID-19, as many hospitals in the province are near or over capacity.

That means several paramedics are working non-stop, with fewer breaks and more overtime.

More than 20 per cent of the 1,050 unionized Urgences-santé are currently unable to work due to COVID-19.

“Paramedics are working overtime shifts. Our call takers are also working overtime shifts to compensate for the level of absenteeism,” said Jean-Mari Dufresne, a supervisor at Urgences-santé.

“This wave is hitting us harder than all the other waves. We do have certain impact on our resources, on our staff, as much as we have at our centres.”

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An increasing number of 911 calls about COVID cases, interventions taking longer to complete, and the lack of staff have created a perfect storm for paramedics.

They say they are overworked and often behind schedule.

“At the end of the day, there’s less people on the road, calls are longer so when we get to our calls, we’re tired, we’re burnt out, and there’s calls that are waiting,” said Kevin Morson, a paramedic and delegate for the FSSS-CSN union. “Often our lunches are reduced or cancelled and often we get a call at the end of the shift – forced overtime to compensate for the lacking staff.

“We’re pressured to do call after call, don’t have time to eat properly. Our work, family relationships are difficult to do with the hours we do, the forced overtime… So people are looking for other options.”

According to Morson, many paramedics are thinking about leaving the profession.

“We had a survey not long ago that saw 50 per cent of staff members are looking to go to other fields because of the work conditions,” he said. “They don’t see themselves 30 years doing this, not because they don’t have a job, but because the work conditions are inadequate.”

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Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube says he met with health-care unions in recent days to find ways to retain and attract more staff.

“For the population, I’d like to remind them if they have a non-emergency call, to call 811 Info-Santé so they can get medical advice from a nurse,” Dufresne said.

Urgences-santé says it is doing the best it can with the staff and resources available, but for now response times for less urgent calls will be delayed to allow for more urgent calls to be responded to in a timely manner.