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Edmonton suffers ambulance crunch
/ {3 ~, D I6 n2 lLast updated Jan 31 2006 08:26 AM MST
3 [# L( A* O9 _0 f k$ rCBC News
! v2 Y: ]# F& MThere's been a big jump in the number of "red alerts" in Edmonton this year.8 ]' i K: k2 D+ y/ H4 q
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"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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( o* @, t$ R$ k! KLast 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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# I8 f# O- n% zEMS says there were 36 red alerts last year, and nine so far this year – including two Monday afternoon.
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( M! u e1 a4 A) @Randy Littlechild, head of the union that represents paramedics, says things are getting worse.; M3 c5 D& }) Q# ]& S# ~4 r7 n
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"We're doing everything we can, but the system is falling apart – really and truly – it's not working," Littlechild says. 5 b7 ], y& F) n4 q
9 O. F8 ^ ~, `9 ?2 o e* M7 hHe says it has come to the point where there has to be an increase of rooms and beds in Edmonton hospitals.* w' M7 M+ Q! j& ~ i' v- v
$ \$ W, n9 h: ]" u: j( ]Capital Health says it will look into making changes to that part of the system. |
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