'We've been abandoned': Man dies in B.C. town waiting for health care near ambulance station
For the second time in less than a month, a resident of Ashcroft, B.C., died while waiting for health care.
Mayor Barbara Roden told CTV News Vancouver a man was walking his dog Sunday morning when he had a heart attack. The man was within sight of the local ambulance station, but the closest paramedics were about 30 minutes away.
Volunteer firefighters were called, but weren't trained for that kind of medical response. Roden said the firefighters who did have some first aid gave the man CPR until paramedics arrived.
"That's twice in one month now that we've had people in medical distress with no ambulance at the station to give them assistance," Roden said.
"It's frustrating, it makes me incredibly sad for the family and friends of the deceased, it makes me worried for my community because I know that people in the community are worried about it."
Last month, a senior resident at a care home next door to Ashcroft's hospital went into cardiac arrest and died. At the time, the emergency department was closed due to staff shortages.
"No one expects an ambulance parked 24-7 in their driveway in case there's a medical emergency, absolutely. But people do depend on the ambulance service, particularly in rural communities," Roden said.
"We just feel that we've been abandoned."
Roden said she wants to see an effort being made to recruit locals to B.C. Emergency Health Services.
"We're more likely to get ambulance paramedics from rural communities coming to our rural communities to work," she said. "It's going to be hard to attract ambulance paramedics from Surrey or White Rock or Richmond or Delta to come in work in small, rural communities."
Ashcroft's emergency department has faced several temporary closures in recent months, diverting patients to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, which is about a one-hour drive away.
Roden said some people are choosing to leave communities like Ashcroft over the unreliable health care.
"Clearly there is something broken with the model," she said.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Angela Jung and Penny Daflos
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.