Paramedics are a vital piece of every BC community. Unfortunately, the BC Ambulance service has decided that not all communities deserve equal Paramedic coverage.
BC communities have been designated by the British Columbia Ambulance Service as Remote, Rural, Urban and Metropolitan. All four of these type of communities are in a dire situation. What type of ambulance coverage do you have?
If you are in a remote or rural community your service level and response times should be of concern. You and your family may be at risk. Remote and Rural communities are normally staffed by On Call Volunteers who respond to your emergency from a pager call. BC Ambulance does not want full time service models in these communities.
With the current service model, Rural and Remote communites are unable to retain trained Paramedics. Learn more about your regional issues here.
As a result, in 'Remote' communities of BC an ambulance response to a life threatening emergency takes longer than nine minutes... 95% of the time! Rural communities are only slightly better arriving within nine minutes less than 55% of responses. Brain death occurs in four to six minutes. That means a negative outcome to a wide range of patients experiencing life threatening illnesses and injuries.
Below you will find your communities ambulance statistics. Here are some important details to look for:
- Is your community considered Remote, Rural, Urban or Metropolitan?
- How many 24hr Full Time ambulances are in your community?
- How many ambulances are call-out part time staffed?
- Do you have an Advanced Life Support (ALS) station in your community?
- How does the call volume compare to 10 years ago?
- How many ambulances have been added in that 10 years?
- How does your community compare to other communities?
View Your Communities Ambulance Coverage
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