Urgences-santé: call 811 for non-urgent health concerns
Posted December 23, 2022 4:02 pm.
Last Updated December 23, 2022 5:21 pm.
Urgences-santé urges people to use the Info-Santé 811 line for non-life-threatening health problems to avoid overloading Montreal paramedics.
“If need be, call 811 before you call the ambulance to see if you absolutely need an ambulance,” said Urgences-santé spokesperson Jean-Mari Dufresne. “We will want to make sure the right patients go to the right place.”
The 811 line is a free service that is available 24/7 for Montreal and Laval residents. Info-Santé services are also available in English and include mental health support.
A data report given to Health Minister Christian Dubé showed that 42 per cent of those who used the health line were able to get a medical consultation after speaking with an Info-Santé nurse since April of last year.
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The Info-Santé service also helped 56 per cent of 350,000 patients without a family doctor set up medical appointment without having to go to the emergency room and provided 47 per cent of parents medical consultation for their children.
Urgences-Santé are hoping that the telephone service would help lessen the demand for paramedic services in Montreal with the winter weather becoming increasingly difficult and Montreal facing a triple epidemic of COVID-19, RSV, and Influenza. However, paramedics have seen an increase in call volumes by a thousand — from 2,700 in November to 3,700 in December.
For emergency cases, people are asked to call 911 or visit the emergency room.
