On March 10, the mayors of ten Metro Vancouver municipalities sent a letter to The Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, reiterating a longstanding request for the Province to expand the range of emergency medical events to which municipal emergency medical responders are called to attend.
“With staffing shortages impacting response times for the BC Ambulance Service, we want to work with the Province to ensure public safety and that those most vulnerable and in desperate need of our services have access to it in a timely fashion. We are currently dealing with the dual crises of COVID-19 and the opioid crisis and all we’re asking for is the opportunity to provide effective services for our communities.”
Mayor George V. Harvie
Signatories:
Mayor Brad West (City of Port Coquitlam) - Mayor Malcolm Brodie (City of Richmond) - Mayor Jamie Ross (Village of Belcarra) - Mayor Bill Dingwall (City of Pitt Meadows) - Mayor Mike Hurley (City of Burnaby) - Mayor John McEwen (Village of Anmoore) - Mayor Val van den Broek (City of Langely) - Mayor Darryl Walker (City of White Rock) - Mayor Linda Buchanan (City of North Vancouver)
On February 19, the Ambulance Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers of BC reported that 30 of the 120 ambulances across the Lower Mainland were unstaffed. This situation can result in significant delays in the provision of emergency medical care to patients when trained Fire Department personnel are not dispatched as well. Last week a patient in Delta with a serious medical issue had to wait 42 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Fortunately in this case, Delta Fire personnel were dispatched, were on scene in less than six minutes, and were able to care for the patient until the BC Ambulance Service arrived.
It is critical to ensure that resources, including medically-trained and/or EMR-trained firefighters, are dispatched to provide the highest available level of care for BC residents. Avoiding 42 minute delays for serious medical issues is an imperative for the community.
For more information on this news release, contact the Mayor’s Office at 604-946-3210 or e-mail MayorHarvie@delta.ca.