Freezing rain, flu cases drive Urgences-santé calls to near-record high

Urgences-santé, which runs the ambulance services for Montreal and Laval, recorded its second-highest call volume to end the year.

Urgences-santé, which runs the ambulance services for Montreal and Laval, recorded its second-highest call volume on Monday.

Spokesperson Alexandre Sapone says the early onset of flu season and bad weather drove up emergency calls.

The ambulance service received 1,358 calls, about a quarter of which were related to falls due to freezing rain, Sapone said.

On an average day, Urgences-santé receives some 900 calls. Its highest-recorded call volume was 1,473 on Jan. 11, 2024.

Emergency room departments across the province have been overwhelmed with flu cases with the stretcher occupancy rate for the entire province at 128 per cent as of Monday.

Sapone says prevention is key to ease the strain on the health-care network and to keep each other safe.

“On days like yesterday ... stay home unless it’s absolutely essential to go out. If you’re able to postpone non-essential travels, do so. If you end up traveling by car, take in consideration the weather, adapt your driving,” he says.

Those walking or using public transit should dress appropriately and use cleats if possible, he adds. Those who can should put abrasive on the ground outside.

“Those are things that help us at the end of the day — either prevent falls or help us when we get the calls to give you guys a hand," says Sapone.

Though Urgences-santé paramedics have been on strike, Sapone says they “responded to the call yesterday.”

“They were there in midst of the whole storm also,” he says. “We wouldn’t be able to go forth without that. So thank our paramedics and our first responders.”