Changes to ambulance routes raises concerns for residents on Montreal's South Shore

A new directive from the Quebec health ministry for ambulances serving the South Shore of Montreal is raising alarm bells as some residents are now being redirected to emergency rooms much further away.

A new directive from the Quebec health ministry for ambulances serving the South Shore of Montreal is raising alarm bells as some residents are now being redirected to emergency rooms much further away.

The sudden redrawing of ambulance routes in Quebec's Montérégie-Ouest region has caught some people off guard and is the result of the province's commitment to limit the use of private agencies in the health system. The changes announced Tuesday by the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest (CISSSMO) affect non-priority calls.

According to the new directive confirmed by CTV News, residents who live in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Saint-Lazare, Les Cèdres, and Pointe-des-Cascades — who previously would be sent to the Suroît Regional Hospital in Valleyfield — will now be redirected to Lakeshore General Hospital on the West Island. The Pointe-Claire hospital has come under pressure in recent years over long-standing overcrowding issues, chronic understaffing and long wait times.

The new ambulance routes were first reported by The Last Ambulance, an independent website run by Hal Newman, a former paramedic. 

The head of the MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, which covers 23 municipalities in the region, said he is "concerned about the repercussions for citizens."

"It is important to remember that the Vaudreuil-Soulanges MRC represents more than 166,000 citizens, and is currently served outside the territory, as there is still no operational hospital on the territory," said MRC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges Prefect Patrick Bousez in an email to CTV News.