Houston Government leaves families waiting as ambulance response times rise

HALIFAX – Families are left to wait for emergency care as ambulance response times continue to rise under the Houston government’s watch.

Donna McInnis had to wait two and a half hours for an ambulance to arrive at Point Pleasant Park this weekend after her husband fell and broke his hip.

“He waited, immobilized on the asphalt, exposed to the hazard of traffic passing by, shivering with muscle spasms and in pain from 4 pm to 6:30 pm before an ambulance came to take him to the hospital less than four kilometers away,” said McInnis. “People are incredulous about his two-and-a-half-hour wait. When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics said they had just begun their shift and that they had come from Milford. This is an unacceptable situation.”

Stories like McInnis’ are becoming all too common. Paramedics are doing the best they can with the resources they have and families are left waiting for emergency care that may or may not arrive when needed.

“People like Donna and her family have seen critical health care services, including ambulance response times, get worse under the Houston government,” said NDP Leader Claudia Chender. “We hear from people like Donna and her husband too often and something has to be done. We know that a lack of available paramedics is a huge part of this problem, and we know that many are leaving the province to work for more money in better resourced systems, or leaving the profession because of a lack of support. If we want to reverse this trend we need to offer competitive wages, more resources, and a system that matches their dedication and commitment. People like Donna and her family deserve better than being left to wait and worry as an ambulance is dispatched from Milford.”

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