Emergency room doctors in British Columbia are sounding the alarm about the province’s beleaguered ambulance service, warning that major changes are needed to address growing wait times at hospitals across Metro Vancouver.
Recent Concerns
In recent weeks, six patients died while awaiting treatment at Surrey Memorial Hospital. The Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) has called for an urgent review of all aspects related to service performance, including:
- Understaffing
- Dispatch procedures
CMPA stated, "We believe major reforms are needed at BCHS to understand why wait times have increased exponentially over the past year." They recommend analyzing:
- Times spent on calls from initial contact through the call process until arrival at the hospital
- Systematic issues within the dispatch system contributing to bottlenecks
Issues with Dispatch System
BC Ambulance Service CEO Chris Kirkpatrick acknowledged that his team did not follow all recommended steps set out by EMD Systems Corp when implementing its new dispatch system last year. The $20-million computer program, designed to handle emergency calls through the revamped phone number 8-1-1, caused widespread confusion among callers.
Kirkpatrick met with staff at St. Paul Hospital following reports of delayed responses from ambulances. Discussions regarding systemic problems identified by experts included:
- Lack of adequate staffing levels
- Inadequate communication between paramedics and dispatchers
- Inadequate data collection tracking performance metrics
- Lack of standardization across regions province-wide
- Inadequate IT infrastructure supporting software upgrades
Impact on Families
Families who have lost loved ones due to delays in service continue to grieve and hope that Premier David Eby will implement changes soon.
Coroner Larry Marzinzik told jurors examining a preventable fentanyl-poisoning death that they must not assign blame but can propose recommendations focused on addressing broader failures of systems and standards involved in this case. He emphasized that their suggestions should be reasonable, practical, and achievable.
Summary of Key Issues
The BC Ambulance Service has been plagued by:
- Long wait times and delays in responding to emergency calls
- Systemic problems needing urgent attention, including:
- Inadequate staffing levels
- Poor communication between paramedics and dispatchers
- Insufficient data collection and performance tracking
- Lack of standardization across regions
- Inadequate IT infrastructure
Families affected by these delays are calling for immediate reforms to prevent further tragedies.
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