Daughter says Parksville, B.C. man died while family on hold with 911 for 30 min
Barbara Blakey's family had gathered to celebrate a family wedding, but just days before the ceremony, 72-year-old Harry Charles Blakey died in his Parksville, B.C. home.
He passed away on Aug. 27, while his family was on hold with 911. They had been trying to get an ambulance for half an hour, but all they got was a recorded message saying to wait for the next available attendant.
"During which time, listening to this, my father passed away on the floor of his kitchen," Barbara Blakey struggled to say while speaking with CTV News on Wednesday.
Charles Blakey died from a heart attack, and while his daughter does say he had a terminal illness, his doctors had said he would likely live until Christmas.
His daughter says that Charles was active, especially in sports, and that the family was excited to celebrate a wedding together this summer.
Now, the Blakey family is trying to find out what caused the delay in getting through to dispatchers, and have contacted the BC Health Authority and the patient care and quality review board to investigate the matter.
"We needed help for him and we didn't get it and I just really worry for anyone calling an ambulance in that area," said Blakey.
"You don't know that when you call 911 nobody's going to come to the phone to help you," she said.
Troy Clifford, president of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC, says he's also looking for answers.
"It's devastating to the paramedics and dispatchers that would be involved in that, but more importantly it's the impacts on that family and their experiences (that) is tragic," he said Wednesday.
Clifford hopes that a recent recruitment push by the province, and the hiring of a new chief ambulance officer, will bring positive results.
On Tuesday, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said that the province would be making the "largest hiring push in B.C.'s history" for the paramedic service in rural ambulance service areas.
The plan includes the hiring of 85 new full-time paramedics in some locations and 30 new full-time dispatchers.
The province also plans to convert 24 stations from on-call staffing to 24/7 stations, and will move 26 other stations to scheduled on-call staffing.
The hiring push, which the province estimates will be complete by December, comes too late for Harry Blakey, however, who was a former RCMP investigator.
"When he saw something wrong in a system he immediately took to paper and wrote a letter to try to do something about it," said Barbara Blakey. "So I'm stepping up to try and do something on his behalf."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.