Officials are apologizing to a mother and daughter who were kept waiting for nearly four hours for an ambulance following a Surrey car crash.
The pair was involved in a car crash on Monday, and although their injuries were not life-threatening, they needed to be assessed in hospital.
So Surrey firefighters, who arrived at the scene first, called and waited for an ambulance. And waited.
At least 10 ambulances were sent to the scene, but all except the last one were diverted to higher priority calls.
"We're very apologetic to these two patients who waited just under four hours," B.C. Emergency Health Services vice president Linda Lupini told CTV News.
The union representing the province's paramedics said the incident is proof of a severe shortage of ambulances in Metro Vancouver.
"This is happening on a day-to-day basis and it's very concerning," said Bronwyn Barter, president of Ambulance Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers of B.C.
"On behalf of the 3,300 paramedics in the province, that is not what we like to see."
A government report published earlier this year backs up the union's claims, saying the Metro area needs another 22 ambulances, but only nine vehicles have been added this year.
"This can be fixed overnight," Barter said, adding that the issue appears to be with funding.
"I don't think dollars should be put in front of people's lives… We can't wait any longer. The patients can't wait. People are going to die."
Lupini said EHS is looking at how to better allocate ambulances at peak times, and that the service just put a new policy in place so officials know in real time what's going on.
"Extra resources are always welcome, but the problem is really more complicated," she said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Shannon Paterson
