'He would still be alive if help arrived on time': B.C. senior dies after family calls 911, waits 33 minutes for ambulance

A Metro Vancouver woman believes her dad would still be alive if help had arrived sooner when she called 911. Instead, she was put on hold and by the time emergency crews arrived, it was too late.

A Metro Vancouver woman believes her dad would still be alive if help had arrived sooner when she called 911. Instead, she was put on hold and by the time emergency crews arrived, it was too late.

Crystal Campbell was at her parent's Surrey home Sept. 24 when she heard her 70-year-old father, Gordon, calling for help.

"I was outside talking to my mom and my dad just started screaming '911, 911,'" she said. Her dad had chronic health issues.

She said she dialed 911 as her dad went into cardiac arrest.

Campbell said she asked for an ambulance and was then put on hold. She said a dispatcher came back on the line briefly and asked if her dad was breathing. She told the operator he was.

"Then they put me on hold for another eight minutes...I just held his hand and waited for someone to answer," she told CTV News.

She said by the time the dispatcher got back on the line again, she was frantic. Soon after, her dad stopped breathing.