A new ambulance dispatch system implemented in Quebec is facing criticism from paramedics who allege it is causing delays and posing risks to patient care, according to a CBC News broadcast.

Paramedics, who CBC agreed not to name due to contractual restrictions, reported experiencing issues such as duplicate emergency calls, ambulances being dispatched to incidents already handled by other teams, and confusion regarding patient locations. Several paramedics indicated these problems were infrequent with the previous system but increased in the months following the new system’s implementation, with some reporting ongoing issues into the fall.

In some instances, paramedics prepared to forcibly enter a patient’s residence due to a lack of response, only to discover the patient had already been transported to hospital by another crew. While Urgence Santé and the union representing paramedics, Syndicat du Préhospitalier, stated they have no reports of forced entries, the union maintains it has received numerous complaints from its members regarding the new system, known as CAD or RAO.

The Syndicat du Préhospitalier believes the current state of the RAO system is causing “significant delays.” Urgence Santé acknowledged “growing pains” and “glitches,” specifically mentioning instances of old calls reappearing in the system after its launch. However, the health authority insists there has been no impact on patient care, characterizing the issues as expected with new software and stating measures were taken to address them.

The CBC broadcast included a segment with repeated, unintelligible audio and unrelated phrases, which were excluded from this report.