An ambulance going to Saint-Jean-Port-Joli was unable to reach its destination because of too steep a slope, to the amazement of the mother who had called for help.
Amélie Auger contacted the emergency services around 9:50 p.m. on February 13, because her eight-month-old boy was showing signs of respiratory distress.
“I acted right away and it was still quick, but to my surprise they got stuck at the top,” she explained. They did not think they could go up the coast which, however, is a municipal coast.
Although the incident did not affect her son this time around, Ms Auger fears paramedics may not be able to help them on their next call.
“I was extremely disturbed because there was respiratory distress, but in the event that it would have been a cardio-respiratory arrest, we saw ourselves pushing the stretcher into the rib, we did not really know how to react, a- she recounted. We were in shock.”
She is not the only one affected by this situation.
“There are other residents in the cove here, continued Amélie Auger. There are some who have quite specific health problems and it is quite disturbing that we are the ones who have to climb the hill to access ambulance services.
The mother of the family tried to get in touch with the company Paraxion, manager of the ambulance services in this sector, but could not have an answer for the moment, because the person in charge would be presently absent from the office.
“I contacted Paraxion and they said they would follow up in two weeks after the holidays,” she said.
The company did not respond to our interview requests.