November 2, 2023
Ambulance Delays the New Normal in Doug Ford’s Ontario
During question period, France Gélinas, MPP for Nickel Belt, questioned Minister of Health Sylvia Jones, about what long waits for emergency medical services will mean for patient care.
“Minister on Monday Toronto Paramedics Union issued a code red to indicate that no ambulance was available to respond to emergency calls. That was the second code red issued in October.
During that period, a 98-year-old woman waited unconscious for over 28 minutes; an ambulance ended up being dispatched from Peel region. Can the Minister tell us if an unconscious elderly woman waiting 28-minutes for an ambulance is quality care?”
Toronto EMS reported two code red events during the month of October.
“Yesterday Kitchener Waterloo faced a paramedic “code red” when 10 ambulances were waiting at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener to off-load their patients. Speaker some patients had to wait 8 hours for an ambulance from the surrounding region to come and help. Minister, is this the level of care the good people of Kitchener can expect from Doug Ford’s Ontario?”
In July, the CBC reported that the Ontario government does have data on the number of hours paramedics spend waiting in ER to transfer patients but won’t disclose it.