SaltWire E-Edition

Seizure-prone woman calls for better ambulance response times

Patient waited nearly an hour after having seizure in Berwick

KIRK STARRATT ANNAPOLIS VALLEY REGISTER kirk.starratt@saltwire.com CONTRIBUTED

A Kings County woman who suffered a seizure in a Berwick parking lot and waited almost an hour for an ambulance to arrive says the situation is unacceptable.

Karen Haggerty, of Windermere, was at the Foodland in Berwick on July 5 when she suffered a grand mal seizure. The seizures cause a loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions.

She said that she’s been suffering the seizures for a long time, and so far, medical professions haven’t been able to tell her why.

“This started three years ago, and I’ve been fighting to get seen by doctors since,” Haggerty said. “That’s what our health care system has come to.”

She landed on her face and her right side on the pavement, blackening both eyes and badly scraping her nose. Laying there bleeding, it took paramedics almost 60 minutes to arrive.

Haggerty said that although she can’t remember anything from the incident, her understanding is that the ambulance had to come from Middleton, as the only ambulance in the Berwick area was tied up at another call.

She said that although they had no medical equipment to work with, she was fortunate that her son-in-law and her daughter’s father, both firefighters, happened to be there. There was also a retired or off-duty paramedic there who helped as much as he could until the ambulance arrived. Haggerty said she would like to thank him.

“He stayed the entire time with me and my family,” she said.

Haggerty said it’s a very scary situation, both about response times for ambulances and medical appointment wait times. There was another occasion when she suffered a seizure in Berwick when it took an ambulance about 30 minutes to arrive.

She said she is an emergency case, but it won’t be until late August that she can see a specialist about the seizures. Haggerty said she has been waiting for an appointment for months.

She said there was also a time when firefighters trained as medical first responders would be called to help in a situation such as this, and she would like to know why this is no longer the case.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

Kings West MLA Leo Glavine is among the local political representatives Haggerty has contacted about slow response times for ambulances.

He said he has received similar complaints from other constituents over the years, but Haggerty’s complaint is the first of its nature that he has heard in a while. In other cases, geography and distance have been contributing factors.

Glavine said a recent report on ambulance services in Nova Scotia by Fitch and Associates that was commissioned by the provincial government contains 68 recommendations — the vast majority of which have been accepted by the government. He said the implementation of these should improve response times.

Glavine said one recommendation is to add more ambulances in areas where there has been population growth or that have an older population.

“These are the areas now that are under consideration to look at whether another ambulance team is required,” Glavine said, pointing out that distances between the current locations of ambulances are also being examined to see if these can be shortened.

Glavine said it’s a very connected system and, as pointed out in the Fitch report, offloading wait times at hospitals have become problematic and have increased the time it takes paramedics to respond to emergency calls.

He said that, unfortunately, there would always be oneoff situations such as bad accidents, for example, that require more than one ambulance to respond and serve to tie up paramedic resources.

PILOT PROGRAM UNDERWAY

As his most recent appointment as Minister of Health and Wellness was drawing to a close in February, Glavine said they established a pilot program in Bridgewater, Kentville and Halifax that aims to help paramedics improve response times.

Vehicles other than ambulances, primarily vans, are used to transport patients in non-urgent situations to hospital for medical procedures, such as a long-term care resident at Grand View Manor who needs to go to the Valley Regional Hospital for an x-ray, for example.

“This will be taking pressure off of EHS and allow for that better response,” Glavine said.

Haggerty said the pilot program should hopefully alleviate some of the demand for paramedic services, but she would appreciate another ambulance being assigned to the Berwick area.

“If I had been 30 years older, I’d have been dead,” Haggerty said. “I need somebody to make some waves with this because it’s ridiculous.”

FRONT PAGE

en-ca

2021-07-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-22T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/281500754272646

SaltWire Network