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Edmonton suffers ambulance crunch
" V5 _2 Q$ I' g9 `1 `# z8 lLast updated Jan 31 2006 08:26 AM MST
- L8 w5 D( i3 J& GCBC News # f, f* G% {+ ]; u% ]% Y7 A& \
There's been a big jump in the number of "red alerts" in Edmonton this year.
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5 w y2 K/ `. f1 |4 V S7 {"Red alert" is the Emergency Medical Services term for the situation when there are no available ambulances in the entire city.
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/ q/ c8 |0 S# J$ v+ X2 p5 RLast week, a red alert led Capital Health to admit that hospitals can't keep up, meaning ambulances have to wait at emergency until the hospital can take the patient.
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EMS says there were 36 red alerts last year, and nine so far this year – including two Monday afternoon. A; R9 W& w3 _ y
% U. V2 f Z1 `5 ^Randy Littlechild, head of the union that represents paramedics, says things are getting worse.
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# `$ c% s+ @ p1 F9 L) G H"We're doing everything we can, but the system is falling apart – really and truly – it's not working," Littlechild says. ! [; X& v- @; C( J
$ d! D# E! _; S! ^" X; Z: f( I PHe says it has come to the point where there has to be an increase of rooms and beds in Edmonton hospitals.5 T+ c1 v# c1 j$ ]. i+ H, H
, _5 `" h0 f: a8 o2 u3 H: O# gCapital Health says it will look into making changes to that part of the system. |
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