City councillor gets ridealong with Ottawa’s paramedics

An Ottawa city councillor says her ridealong with paramedics was an incredibly rewarding and educational experience.

Innes Ward's Laura Dudas tweeted about her time following two paramedics on an overnight shift, Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

Dudas says the paramedics told her about the sheer volume of calls that come in during a shift, and how breaks are tough to come by because of that volume and getting stuck at hospitals.

Dudas' ridealong included a three-hour wait to triage at the Civic. The backups of paramedics waiting for hospitals to accept their patients has been an ongoing issue for paramedics in Ottawa and the surrounding counties.

Dudas joined the paramedics for a ridealong hoping to learn more about how the issue of mental health and the associated stigma are addressed in the paramedic service. She wrote that paramedics put their bodies and minds on the line to protect and serve our communities, and that it's imperative that the city and society support them.