[jwslam]

Just wanted to start a new thread rather than derail regarding these posts from the dog-attack thread.

Originally Posted by Boblobla

30 mins for EMS? Wow...

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

That's just as infuriating as the dog attack. I want to know why the hell it took so long? Is that standard now?
"no comment from AHS" Yeah #### that noise.

Originally Posted by cam_wmh

Huge labour shortage. An old friend was a Calgary paramedic, and left. He said they're over worked, with high instances of PTSD etc;

Originally Posted by btimbit

Yes, it is. AHS have been warning people about this for years, not their fault nobody listens

Originally Posted by Faust

EMS response times have been steadily deteriorating over the last few years and this has been in the news frequently over the last few weeks:
https://globalnews.ca/news/8820808/a...tial-collapse/
https://globalnews.ca/news/8828022/a...rvices-crisis/
https://globalnews.ca/news/8869029/a...ems-positions/


I have a family member that works as a paramedic here in Calgary. It’s a highly stressful and difficult job with high rates of PTSD and burnout. The UCP have been pushing for wages to either be rolled back or frozen for this profession, so we are educating these people only to see them turnover to other careers typically after only 5 to 8 years on average.

This is my personal experience, May 2022. Some info about why I had to make this trip here:
https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showth...37#post8280837

The approx timeline of what I had happen:

Saturday 16:00 - Called 911 dispatch
Saturday 16:30 - Called 911 again to follow up
Saturday 17:00 - They show up
Saturday 17:30 - Finished evaluation. Enroute to "least congested" hospital
Saturday 18:00 - Arrive at Foothills Medical Center. Put into the ER triage which is a hallway of anyone that arrives by ambulance. In this hallway, from what I overheard, there is one older lady that requires stitches near her eye from a fall, and two cases of OD (fentanyl) which require full time baby sitting and waiting for police to take over. The Paramedics from the ambulance are with us through the xray process, until the doctor has spoken to us, and we are admitted into an ER room. To my knowledge, the ambulance was also not reallocated to anyone else, not that I think there was anyone else to use it anyways... The other cases had all been dealt with and transferred, and we are the last ones in this hallway when we are leaving.
Saturday 21:30 - Admitted into an ER room. Paramedics and ambulance are now free to go. Based on their shift times, I'm not sure they went out to pick up another case or not.
Saturday 22:00 - Patient is tested for COVID. Tested positive so we are required to wait for a room in the isolation ward. I also overhear another nurse saying of the 32 rooms in this ER area, only one has tested COVID negative. Throughout the night, it was pretty much a game of "who can be the loudest to get the nurses' attention" by everyone around. I heard multiple monitoring alarms being ignored for 5-10minutes at a time. Any attention I kindly asked for took 15+ minutes to come back.
Sunday 09:30 - Transfer to isolation room.

I am thankful that our case was not an immediate emergency, and grateful that the staff still have the energy to put up with this broken system that is draining their souls.

I see how EMS response can be so slow if paramedics are tied up waiting with patients in ER... I'm not sure how this can be improved though if ambulances are to be called for emergencies since the patient is unable to make it to ER themselves.