Latest news with #B.C.EmergencyHealthServices
CBC
6 days ago
- Health
- CBC
How to use an EpiPen
B.C. Emergency Health Services is seeing an uptick in life-threatening allergic reactions during the summer months. They say the right care and quick thinking can help avoid that. CBC's Tanushi Bhatnagar got a lesson on how to use an EpiPen.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
B.C. sends extra police to Williams Lake in response to council's state of emergency proposal
City council in Williams Lake, B.C., won't be declaring a state of local emergency to respond to street disorder after the provincial government promised to immediately deploy more police to help with growing concerns. Some councillors in the community of about 23,000 people, 320 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, had expressed interest in declaring a state of local emergency to address local crime, which they said ranged from break-ins and public drug use to theft and vandalism, from a small number of repeat offenders. Such a declaration could provide the municipality with "emergency powers" such as suspending bylaws, ordering road closures or restricting public gatherings, according to a staff report. But at a special council meeting on June 3, Mayor Surinderpal Rathor announced the Ministry of Public Safety had requested the Cariboo-Chilcotin crime reduction unit be immediately deployed to Williams Lake "to assess the situation and develop operational plans." Rathor said the unit could arrive in town as soon as Wednesday. Because of the provincial commitment, Rathor, who had previously supported considering a state of local emergency, suggested councillors "hold your horses for at least [a] month or so." "Emergency would not fly right now," he said and recommended council take no further action on the declaration. Staff told council that local front-line emergency service agencies, including the RCMP, B.C. Emergency Health Services and Interior Health did not see a benefit in declaring a state of local emergency. "Local emergency response stakeholders stressed that the challenges facing Williams Lake (such as limitations in mental health support, addiction services and housing) require more than temporary measures," said the staff report. "The group expressed a strong call for broad, co-ordinated systemic reforms." Listen | Kúkpi7 (Chief) of Xatśūll First Nation, Rhonda Phillips, discusses what a state of local emergency means for the community: Coun. Scott Nelson, who originally put forward the motion to consider a state of local emergency, said the public health situation is dire. "There are people on our streets that are mentally ill that should not be on the streets of Williams Lake," he said, and added, "They're going to hurt somebody." He listed a variety of recent incidents, including fires in garbage bins, a break-in at a law firm and a related robbery at a 7-Eleven. WATCH | Williams Lake mayor considers state of local emergency as response to street disorder: Coun. Angie Delainey didn't support the declaration but recommended the city invite partners, including the regional district and local First Nations, to review public safety programs and discuss funding strategies. "I don't think it's the sole responsibility of the municipality to pay these costs that we know have been downloaded to us," she said. CBC has reached out to the Ministry of Public Safety for more information on its response to Williams Lake council's concerns and is waiting to hear back. Coun. Michael Moses said he was concerned council wasn't properly consulting the local First Nations or LGBTQ+ communities or unhoused people. "If we proceed with this against the will of First Nations and other marginalized peoples in our community, then I want you to be wary of this path of discrimination that this council will be choosing and the repercussions of it." Nelson's motion was also criticized by Xatśūll First Nation and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association for its potential to criminalize struggling people. Council voted 6-1 to take no action on the state of emergency. Nelson was opposed.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Child dead, 2 women hurt after being hit by bus in West Vancouver near Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal
BREAKING UPDATE: Police have confirmed a four-year-old boy has died and two women were injured after being hit by a bus in West have confirmed one person is dead and another was injured after a bus collision involving pedestrians near the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in West Vancouver. B.C. Emergency Health Services told CBC News it received a call at 3:29 p.m. PT about a motor vehicle incident in the 6700 block of Keith Road. "Paramedics provided emergency medical treatment to two patients," it said in the statement. "One patient was transported to hospital in critical condition. The other patient was transported to hospital in stable condition." Police say they will release more information as it becomes available. Car access in the area is blocked. Crews are in the area of Keith Road and Bay Street, according to DriveBC. West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager told CBC News he understands there has been a "very tragic accident" involving a Coast Mountain bus. "It's a tragic situation, and I just want to express on behalf of my entire council our profound sadness," Sager said. "Our hearts go out to everybody impacted by this tragic event." B.C. Ferries has confirmed ferry service is not affected, but the company is asking customers to plan with the incident in mind. TransLink says Route No. 257 is currently being detoured but still serving customers near the Horseshoe Bay bus loop. Due to the event, the scheduled event, Taste of the Bay has been cancelled.
Vancouver Sun
15-05-2025
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Inquest jury recommends changes to B.C. ambulance, health systems
A coroner's inquest jury has recommended major changes to public systems that will affect all British Columbians, in response to the preventable death of a University of Victoria student. The jury forewoman paused several times while reading the recommendations Thursday, becoming emotional while speaking about the details of this case in which three 18-year-olds were poisoned by toxic drugs — forever impacting their lives and the many students who witnessed the tragedy. The nine recommendations include: Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Ministry of Education: Secondary schools should provide instruction on how to perform CPR, use AED devices, and administer nasal naloxone, and to be provided knowledge on drugs of high risk. Post-Secondary Ministry: Create a program involving in-person sessions on drug crisis, using real stories from survivors and family members to make the most impact on students. University of Victoria: Mandatory student orientation to include how to contact 911 and campus security, how to get naloxone and how to administer it, demonstrations on AEDs, how to find safe drug testing locations, and clarification that they would face no repercussions when reporting drug use. University of Victoria: Ensure campus security receive the same information provided to students, particularly about the fact that naloxone is benign and will not cause harm to give it to someone — even if they are not overdosing. Post-Secondary Ministry, B.C. Emergency Health Services: Install unique addresses for each building in multi-building complexes, so they are easy to find in an emergency. Post-Secondary Ministry: Ensure campus security officers are given time to review first aid skills, and that major emergency events are properly reported and examined. B.C. Emergency Health Services: Make changes so that 911 call-takers can more easily find the address of emergency calls. When Sidney McIntyre-Starko, 18, and another student were poisoned by fentanyl in a UVic dorm in January 2024, their friends phoned campus security and 911 for help immediately. But Sidney died of oxygen deprivation after not receiving the overdose-reversing drug naloxone for 13 minutes or CPR for 15 minutes. The jury heard it took the 911 call-taker seven minutes to dispatch an ambulance, partly because she spent 3 1/2 minutes trying to find the address for the 58-year-old UVic dorm where the overdoses happened. The emergency response was also delayed because the student who called 911 didn't explain she and her friends had taken drugs, and described the two patients as turning blue and 'seizing'. That caused the call-taker to enter the seizure protocol on her 911 computer system, which provides a less urgent response than the overdose protocol. Two UVic campus security officers, who have first aid training, were on scene but appeared to rely on the 911 call-taker's instructions so didn't start CPR or administer naloxone immediately. On Wednesday, before the jury issued their recommendations, Premier David Eby was asked why this case was examined in a coroner's inquest, when more than 2,000 people were fatally poisoned by toxic drugs in 2024. He said the inquest was called after he met with Sidney's mother, who was frustrated by UVic not answering her questions and by the recording of the 911 call, which she played for him. 'I know that UVic has made a number of changes and (has) done their own internal investigation, but there are issues that have come up in terms of the EMS (Emergency Health Services) response during the coroner's inquest that I'm sure we'll see being considered by the coroner's jury,' Eby said. 'We'll receive recommendations from the coroner's jury, and we'll ensure that they're implemented. It was an important issue in relation to how post-secondary schools deal with this issue of students who may think they're just having a good time with friends and then suddenly end up an overdose situation, and how we can minimize harm in that very specific environment.' The jury heard testimony from 34 witnesses over 11 days. Sidney's parents launched a media campaign to push for change after her death. More to come … With files from Alec Lazenby, Postmedia lculbert@ • Day 1: UVic student's mother takes stand on Day 1 of her coroner's inquest • Day 2: UVic student contradicts campus security evidence at coroner's inquest • Day 3: UVic security officer defends actions on day of student overdose death • Day 4: We 'did the best we could': Second UVic security guard testifies about evening student died • Day 5: 911 operator relied on what witness described as seizures of UVic students, coroner's inquest hears • Day 6: Paramedic suspected fatal UVic call was more serious than 911 report • Day 7: Drugs found by UVic students like something out of 'a Scarface movie,' police tell coroner's inquest • Day 8: U.S. doctor tells inquest B.C. 911 operators don't use best approach to cardiac-arrest calls • Day 9: After death of UVic student, changes aim to trim delays in getting paramedics to patients • Day 10: B.C.'s 911 system needs major changes, emergency care expert says • Day 11: U.S. firm that made B.C. Ambulance's 911 dispatch system told how to fix it • Day 12: B.C. coroner's jury deliberating changes to ambulance, education systems
Vancouver Sun
15-05-2025
- Health
- Vancouver Sun
Waiting times for an ambulance are up across Metro Vancouver, as calls for help jump
Fewer and fewer calls for ambulances in Metro Vancouver are meeting time targets for life-threatening emergencies like heart attacks or strokes, according to a Postmedia analysis of data provided by B.C. Emergency Health Services . Provincewide, waiting times for an ambulance increased at the highest rate in Delta, West Vancouver and White Rock. The median response time for life-threatening calls such as cardiac arrests increased by over 40 per cent between 2018 and 2024 in those communities 'Staffing continues to be a big issue for us in the ambulance service,' said Ian Tait, communications director for the Ambulance Paramedics of British Columbia, CUPE Local 873. 'So when you have a Friday night going into a long weekend, and if your ambulances are down 10, 20, 30, 40 per cent, you are going to see that in response times quite clearly.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The median time it takes for ambulances to respond to potentially life-threatening emergencies in 2024 has increased in every Metro Vancouver municipality since 2018. Vancouver, which typically has always met provincial targets, had a median response time of 10 minutes, 41 seconds last year — three minutes longer than 2018. In life-threatening emergencies like heart attacks, ambulances should arrive in under nine minutes, according to the national benchmark. While the increasing response times are a concern, they are median times. That means half the calls were faster and half were slower than the numbers provided by BCEHS. Provincewide, most British Columbians waited longer for paramedics to arrive for urgent calls in 2024 than in 2018. In many communities, those waiting times get longer every year. 'If BCEHS was meeting that nine-minute target, they'd be blaring it from the rooftops,' said Tait. 'The reality of it is they're not meeting it.' Despite numerous announcements by the province and B.C. Emergency Health Services in 2021 and 2024 , the staff shortage is driving up waiting times, Tait said. 'We're hundreds of paramedics short,' he said. Call volumes in Metro Vancouver nearly doubled from 2018 to 2024, according to BCEHS figures. B.C. Emergency Health Services responded to 607,716 calls in B.C. in 2024 — just over one call every minute of every day and an all-time high, said Bowen Osoko, a BCEHS spokesperson. Threats to life and other urgent cases made up 38 per cent of calls in 2024. According to Osoko, the increases were related to a number of factors, including a larger and aging population, increases in chronic and complex health conditions, and the toxic drug crisis. Tait said there has been an increase in calls classified as 'red' in recent years. These calls can range from something as basic as a stomach ache that could signal something more serious to a potentially life-threatening heart problem or drug poisoning. Response times for the higher-priority 'purple' calls, which involve immediately life-threatening cases such as cardiac arrests, he said, remained stable. Data provided to Postmedia did not separate the two types of urgent calls. Osoko said in an email that the median response time for purple calls in urban areas was 7 minutes, 38 seconds in 2024. For red calls in urban areas, it was 10 minutes, 34 seconds. 'Despite increasing pressures on the health-care system, overall response times for the most urgent calls have remained similar or improved over the last several years in the province as a whole,' he said. Both Tait and Osoko pointed to a program BCEHS launched in 2022 that works to reallocate less-critical calls from paramedics to more care-appropriate services like telehealth, transportation to urgent primary care centres or other community resources. Taite called the change significant. 'They've tried to figure out ways to get (patients) different resources so that they could free up more ambulances for the actual emergency,' he said. Osoko said many communities have increasingly been using other first responders, including firefighters and emergency medical call-takers, to provide support until paramedics arrive. 'It's important to emphasize that longer call times do not mean someone is left waiting without care,' he said.
