Saanichton mother waited an hour and 40 minutes to hear back from ambulance dispatch
Erin Booth was grocery shopping last Sunday evening in Sidney, when suddenly she felt intense pressure in her head and weakness in her body.
“Over a matter of three seconds, I completely lost hearing,” Booth said. “Everything went silent.”
When she called 911 and requested an ambulance, she was told it would be a long wait. After half an hour waiting for an ambulance dispatcher to take her call, she hung up — because by the she’d already arrived at Saanich Peninsula Hospital by taxi.
Staff at the grocery store helped her call the cab. It was a last resort while she was on hold, but it turned out to be the right call. She didn’t hear back from ambulance dispatch until she was being prepped for a CT scan at the hospital an hour and 40 minutes after her initial call.
“This is completely unacceptable,” said Booth Thursday, recounting the incident and how long it it took for her to connect with ambulance dispatch.
“I’d heard inklings of wait times, but had no idea of the severity.”
Troy Clifford is the head of the union for ambulance paramedics and their dispatchers. He agrees with Booth that it’s clearly a unacceptable wait.
“That just breaks my heart,” said Clifford. “I just can’t imagine her situation that she had to wait that long.”
It’s just the latest story of someone on Vancouver Island waiting too long after calling for an ambulance. In August, 72-year-old Parksville resident Harry Charles Blakey died of a heart attack after waiting half an hour on hold.
The province committed this summer to hiring 30 new dispatchers and additional paramedics across B.C. after criticism of slow responses during the heat dome. That process is underway, and is one Clifford calls a good start, but not enough.
“Nobody should have to wait on hold in their time of emergency,” he said.
There's been an average of approximately 2,000 calls a day in B.C. for ambulances this month — about 500 more per day than usual.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the addition of 30 new dispatchers in B.C. should be enough to handle the current call volumes.
“That's a very significant increase in the number of dispatchers and that's going to help significantly,” said DIx.
Clifford disagrees, and says determining how many more are needed is job one.
“I think that’s really our top priority right now: assessing what our needs are, so that we meet those demands.”
After her experience this past weekend, Booth agrees.
“It could be you, tomorrow, that needs to place this call,” she said. “That’s why this is so important.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.