Lower Mainland gets eight new ambulances, 34 additional paramedics
Posted February 5, 2016 3:39 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Eight new ambulances and 34 paramedics have been added to serve the Lower Mainland.
“We began to add them in early January, and as we are able to staff up, we’re looking to ensure that they’re more reliably in service,” says Jodi Jensen with BC Emergency Health Services.
The move is an effort to speed up ambulance response times, and as part of this plan there will be a review into how ambulances are deployed for minor incidents.
A trio of new ambulances will be based in Surrey.
Langley and Abbotsford get two each, and the North Shore sees one added to its fleet.
But Maple Ridge isn’t getting any help, despite a number of high profile long waits recently, and that’s not sitting well with Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read.
“That’s really disappointing,” says Read. “Especially given the amount of work that’s been done by citizens in our community to communicate the need that we have here. There are deep concerns that we don’t have enough ambulances in our city.”
Read says she will be pressing the province to ensure additional service for her community.
