There is plenty of praise being heaped on Thunder Bay’s EMS by Westfort’s Councillor.
Kristen Oliver recalls the incredible professionalism displayed during a ride along Friday night, January 17th, especially when they were called to help a man who had suffered a heart attack.
“Just to watch how they were saving this man’s life was just awe inspiring, they were so compassionate, and so well trained in what they do. We are really well served by our EMS,” recalls the councillor.
She did not like seeing how long it took for ambulances to transfer patients to the hospital. Oliver says the ride-along gave her a first-hand look at what she calls the dire social issues facing the community.
“When we have some people that are experiencing some substance abuse issues, they could perhaps just go straight into the detox centre and alleviate that gridlock through the EMS and emergency department.” She adds this would help with the provincial government’s quest to end hallway medicine.
Westfort’s Councillor adds about 30% of the budget is for community safety.
“There was a couple of times through the night where every ambulance was tied up in the emergency department waiting to off load, and that’s incredibly concerning because if we had a critical situation we would have had to pull in paramedics from Shuniah and other outside areas,” said Oliver.
The ride along was the Councillor’s idea, wanting to compare what she calls perceptions in the community, and the realities facing paramedics daily.
