B.C. emergency services 'in a much stronger position' ahead of long weekend surge
CTV
British Columbia’s two key emergency agencies say they are prepared for an anticipated surge of demand over what’s traditionally one of the busiest long weekends of the year, with the forecast calling for warm weather.
British Columbia’s two key emergency agencies say they are prepared for an anticipated surge of demand over what’s traditionally one of the busiest long weekends of the year, with the forecast calling for warm weather.
The Canada Day holiday is the first since the end of the school year and both E-Comm 911 and BC Emergency Health Services typically see a surge in calls for help as people are injured doing yard work, recreational activities like hiking and boating, as well as in car accidents while driving to vacation destinations.
“We feel we're in a much stronger position this summer than we were a year ago or two years ago during the heat dome,” said E-Comm 911’s vice president of communications, Dave Cunningham.
He added, however, that call volumes continue to increase with May their busiest on record, and that “as fast as we're hiring, the call volumes continue to grow and that’s something we're very concerned about.”
BC Emergency Health Services said no one was available to speak about preparations, but sent an email statement insisting their staffing levels “look strong throughout the province and there are currently no concerns with the staffing picture or our ability to meet service targets.”
Cunningham pointed to a new collective agreement ratified earlier this year with 911 call-takers as helping shore up staffing levels for the busy summer months, and the president of the province’s paramedics and dispatchers’ union said their new contract has had similar benefits with fewer ambulances left parked due to critical personnel shortages.
“We have been seeing some of those challenges but not to the levels we've seen in the past,” said Troy Clifford of the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C.
