Dear Editor:
I wonder how many of you have had to take an ambulance lately?
Unfortunately I did and experienced a 45-minute wait, as they were somewhere else.
Is it true that we have access to only one ambulance for a wide area?
I was also told by the attendant that despite my situation we could not drive with the lights or sirens on and had to do the speed limit?
So basically it took same time as if we drove.
It kind of defeats the purpose of calling one doesn’t it?
Have any of you had a similar experience? Lets start a dialogue. Thanks.
Naomi Fraser
Osoyoos, B.C.
I can’t speak for Osooyos, but in Oliver we only have 1 ambulance on duty at a time, I’ve (maybe incorrectly) observed. But if your medical transport has just left Osoyoos for the hospital in Oliver, it’s a 45 min. round trip. No-one has mentioned why your transport was tied up, but I can get to that in a minute. Ambulance drivers are obliged to follow a strict set of rules regarding lights and sirens. Discomfort is not necessarily included in these rules. When you’re hurting, time dilates. Anything that doesn’t provide some immediate relief seems to take forever. It’s important that people know they are in the hands of professionals, and they would never willingly extend pain to their patient. As far as wait times go, this may be a symptom of our present drug crisis. If the ambulance is away delivering Naxalone to an overdosing person, this is life and death, and you’ll have to wait. With our local drug problems, this is a likely scenario. It is, for sure, elsewhere. Pressure your prov. gov’t. to work on the drug problem and it won’t affect our heath care so much. But do call the ambulance if you think you need medical assistance. You need trained help en route. They’re the pro’s.
FYI,
Ambulances aren’t there so you can get to the hospital faster. The response is coded when you call 911 and the initial response is determined by the dispatcher who got the information about your ailment directly from you when you called.
If the treatment for your sickness/injury was time sensitive and warranted a fast response the paramedics would have driven you with a lights and siren response.
And for the record Oliver has 2 ambulances 24/7, one crew at the station and another on pagers while Osoyoos has 2 during the day and one car at night.
Thank you Chad for shedding light on this important topic. We need to keep our highly trained paramedics available for medical emergencies. Driving lights and sirens increases risks on the road, risks that need to be balanced with the urgency of the medical condition of the patient.
By the way,
They aren’t attendants or ambulance drivers these are highly trained, educated medical professionals.
And their job title is PARAMEDIC
My boyfriend and me called an ambulance, hoping to get a ride up to Penticton. We weited over an hour for them to come, and then they said that I wasn’t critical and they wouldn’t give us a ride, because they had other calls. And they also said my boyfriend couldn’t come too. He would have to find his own way. Greyhoud is gone, so what are people to do. How are people expected to get around? Taxis are stupid expensive. And with all the pickers, it’s harder to hitchhike. This is not right.
Are you just being silly or what? An ambulance isn’t something like a taxi that you call just to get a ride. They’re for life and death medical emergencies.