Questions about ambulance service are being asked at the legislative building after a call for help went unanswered.
Saskatoon NDP MLA Betty Nippi-Albright fell outside the building on Wednesday and needed emergency help. After waiting an hour and a half for EMS, the government turned to the highway patrol for assistance.
“There are no broken bones which is wonderful. My knee is quite swollen. My hip on the other hand is still very sore so I have medication. I’m resting at the apartment,” Albright said on Thursday.
Nippi-Albright couldn’t get back up following her fall so EMS was called. No ambulance showed up.
“For nearly an hour and a half, waiting for an ambulance to come,” Albright said.
Saskatchewan Highway Patrol stepped in and transported the Saskatoon MLA to hospital in one of its trucks. The incident has prompted questions about the state of ambulance service in the province.
“Unfortunately these types of delays are more common than we might expect. You want to believe that when you call for an ambulance in an emergency situation, one’s going to be there for you and you know we have folks learning the hard way that that’s not the case,” said NDP MLA Vicki Mowat.
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The government says there were unforeseen circumstances.
“My understanding of the situation yesterday is it’s a bit of an anomaly due to illness and staffing challenges. They were down three ambulances in the City of Regina and a very unfortunate circumstance as a result of that,” said Tim McLeod, minister of rural and remote health.
The government is checking how many ambulances were in service when the call for assistance came from the legislative building. Earlier this year, the government hired 24 additional EMS personnel for Regina but apparently some problems still persist.
