Mental health of paramedics: "It's not normal that we don't have immediate support from our employer"

Most paramedics in Quebec still do not receive support from the CNESST or their employees for their mental health after traumatic situations in their workplace, despite a report published in 2024 that sounded the alarm for the sector.

• Also read: “It’s worrying”: nearly 7 out of 10 paramedics suffer from mental health problems in Quebec

A report from the Université du Québec à Rimouski, which illustrated a portrait of the mental health of Quebec paramedics in a post-pandemic context, showed that 7 out of 10 paramedics suffer from mental health problems across the province.

"Seriously, nothing has happened since our report came out," said Jérémie Landry, vice-president of the Quebec Federation of Pre-Hospital Employees.

The latter claims that the Ministry of Health and Social Services took the report "into consideration", but that no follow-up was made subsequently.

"We find it deplorable today," Landry denounced to Isabelle Perron, on QUB radio and television, broadcast simultaneously on 99.5 FM Montreal. "There are no aid tools being proposed by the State."

He believes that paramedics should be taken care of "immediately" after a difficult intervention.

"It is not normal today, as we speak, that if an ambulance team experiences an objectively traumatic situation [...], they do not have the immediate support of their employer," he stressed.

Pitfalls in recognizing a shock

The vice-president explained that after a post-traumatic episode, the paramedic can obtain a diagnosis from his or her doctor. It is then up to the Commission des normes de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) to accept or reject it.

"We often see that the CNESST does not take into consideration the doctor's diagnosis and refuses the worker's eligibility for an occupational injury which is post-traumatic shock," denounced Jérémie Landry.

In cases where the CNESST recognizes the diagnosis, the employer would contest this decision in "100% of cases," according to him.

"The worker must initiate legal proceedings with his union to be able to demonstrate to the administrative labor tribunal that there is post-traumatic stress disorder," he said. "So, we are adding another layer to the mental health of our workers."

A ministerial protocol to help ambulance drivers?

The Vice President would have liked to collaborate with the ministry in order to put in place a protocol.

"We wanted to establish a ministerial protocol for mental health, post-traumatic stress, and all objectively traumatic situations. But to date, we've received absolutely nothing from the government on this subject."

The CNESST and the Ministry of Health and Social Services have not responded to requests from the QMI Agency at the time of writing.

Listen to the full interview in the clip above.