By Kaitlyn Bailey, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Bella Coola ambulance was only in-service 52 per cent of July, Lesley Pritchard, communications for BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) stated in an email.
The in-service average over the past year was higher, at 75 per cent, but was still equivalent to one week per month without ambulance services.
Continue reading Bella Coola ambulance service had coverage for only half of July
There are not enough family doctors and the shortage of paramedics has reached crisis levels. Some people would like to see better fire services in North Island. In the third of a series about the issues he will be facing if elected Regional Director on October 15, Marc Doll spoke about emergency services on Quadra Island.
Continue reading Marc Doll speaks out on critical paramedic shortfalls; the doctor shortage & wildfire services in North Island
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A coalition of small-town mayors and politicians are uniting in hopes of tackling the urgent health-care crisis in rural communities across British Columbia.
Mayors Gaby Wickstrom of Port McNeill, Merlin Blackwell of Clearwater, and Lori Ackerman of Fort St. John are some of the municipal leaders asking peers to join a rural caucus to develop solutions and draw attention to the crisis.
Continue reading Mayors in rural B.C. band together to push province to fix health-care crisis
By Kaitlyn Bailey, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Spurred by growing concern about paramedic shortages and gaps in service, three leaders from Haida Gwaii and Nuxalk Nation lobbied for solutions during a meeting with Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Leanne Heppell, executive vice president and chief ambulance officer at BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), on Aug. 3.
The province introduced a new paramedic staffing model for rural and remote communities in the fall of 2021, which they refer to as Scheduled on Call (SOC).
Continue reading North Coast leaders met with the province to voice ambulance concerns
In the third of a series of interviews leading up to the October 15 election, Area C candidate Robyn Mawhinney describes some of the challenges emergency services face on Quadra Island.
“Every month on Quadra Island, there are multiple days where there are no paramedics available, as well as no after hours emergency ferry,” she explained.
Continue reading Mawhinney: Challenges Emergency Services currently face on Quadra Island
