The disturbing story of a Surrey family who called 911 for an ambulance for an eight-year-old girl in medical distress last Friday but ended up having to drive her to hospital themselves is not an isolated case, the Now-Leader has learned.

Sadaf Khan said she has yet to receive an explanation why an ambulance didn鈥檛 come to take her daughter to hospital after they called 911 for help. She said Aira was in 鈥渟evere pain鈥� after she fell in the bathtub at about 4:20 p.m., June 18.

鈥淪he鈥檚 OK now,鈥� Khan said. 鈥淪he passed out, she was in severe pain, she was not able to talk.鈥�

Khan said they waited about half an hour before calling again. On the second call, she said, she was told an ambulance wasn鈥檛 available and that they should bring her to the hospital themselves, which they did.

鈥淚t was really tough for us, for our whole family,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he ambulance never showed up.鈥�

Shannon Miller, a spokeswoman for BC Emergency Health Services, said Thursday that the call was deemed 鈥渘on-urgent,鈥� as in 鈥渘ot serious or life threatening.鈥�

鈥淥n June 18 at that time, we were experiencing a high call volume and did not have an ambulance immediately available as paramedics were responding to time-critical and potentially life-threatening medical emergency calls,鈥� Miller said.

鈥淎 BCEHS Paramedic Specialist conducted an assessment over the phone, and assessed the patient was in stable condition. Following a consultation with the Paramedic Specialist the caller stated they would transport the patient to hospital themselves,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e know it can be incredibly stressful waiting for an ambulance during a medical emergency. We can assure BC residents paramedics continue to get to critical patients and prioritize our responses based on the medical priority dispatch system used around the world. This means patients with life-threatening symptoms including cardiac arrest and breathing difficulties receive the highest priority response.鈥�

Miller said BCEHS is currently experiencing higher than usual call volumes, and not only in Surrey, which generates about 50,000 medical emergency calls each year. She said this amounts to an average of roughly 140 calls per day to 911 from people requesting an ambulance.

鈥淭his month, those numbers are averaging about 150 calls a day,鈥� Miller told the Now-Leader. 鈥淚n the first three weeks of June there has been 3,443 medical emergency calls, and of those calls 33 per cent of them were life-threatening, 鈥楶urple or Red鈥� in our clinical model of response.鈥�

Bilal Cheema, a friend of the Khans, questions how often scenarios like the one the Khans experienced occur in Surrey.

鈥淭hey called for an ambulance and they said it鈥檚 on its way. When someone calls for an ambulance and they say it鈥檚 on its way, it gives them so much comfort right, like OK, help鈥檚 on its way,鈥� he remarked. But 30 minutes went by, he said. Thirty five, and no ambulance. 鈥淓ight year old child.鈥�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 not good enough, even under COVID circumstances,鈥� Cheema said. 鈥淥ne of the things that separates us from a lot of places in the world is governance, right, and knowing that you can get help when you need it.鈥�

Meantime, Newton resident Marie Van Camp, 64, was walking down to the store at 64th Avenue and Scott Road, at about 2:30 p.m. on June 9 when suddenly she was in medical distress.

鈥淚 became very short of breath, I couldn鈥檛 breathe, I was blacking out. My husband was with me, he got me over onto the grass and I just collapsed onto the grass,鈥� she told the Now-Leader.

When she came to, her husband was calling 911. A Surrey firetruck showed up 35 minutes later with a crew of three who checked her blood pressure, and got her on oxygen. She already knew she had a suspected blood clot 鈥� she鈥檇 been into a doctor about it.

鈥淭hat morning I woke up with excruciating pain in the back of my leg,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淭he ambulance never did come.鈥� Van Camp said one of the firefighters told her 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e coming鈥� and suggested her husband Ray drive her to emergency. 鈥淵ou better drive her, and here鈥檚 what to do if she stops breathing en route 鈥� you call 911.鈥�

鈥淲e said well we did that already, and we didn鈥檛 get an ambulance the first time so why would we get an ambulance the second time?鈥�

Her son drove her to SMH emergency, where she spent 11 hours. Van Camp said she told the medical practitioners that she thinks she had a blood clot and that she鈥檇 had the AstraZeneca vaccine.

She said they found a clot and a doctor told her she was 鈥渧ery lucky.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 on blood thinners and will be for three months.鈥�

Van Camp described a hospital in chaos.

鈥淭he nurses were saying to each other 鈥榃hat the hell is going on? This is nuts.鈥� The doctor said 鈥榃e haven鈥檛 been this crazy busy since COVID started.鈥� The guy beside me, he鈥檇 been waiting to be seen for eight hours,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople were getting up and walking out, they were saying this is f-ing stupid, I鈥檓 not waiting. And I heard a doctor saying well it couldn鈥檛 be that bad, it can鈥檛 be that serious if they鈥檙e not willing to wait. I saw four or five people get up and walk out.鈥�

She was instructed to call the thrombosis clinic at the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre and tried four times to get through, with 鈥渘o satisfaction.鈥�

鈥淣obody ever called me back.鈥� She eventually drove there. 鈥淚 thought I鈥檓 not coming out until I鈥檝e spoken to somebody. So, a huge runaround inside as well. Finally I did get an appointment.鈥�

Van Camp said she wants to know why an ambulance did not show up. Was her ordeal scary?

鈥淵ou bet.鈥�

She said she only called 911 once before, for a medical emergency when she lived in Delta, and 鈥渢hey (an ambulance) were there within minutes.鈥�

鈥淎pparently there鈥檚 a shortage of drivers or attendants.鈥�

The BCEHS has yet to provide an explanation for Van Camp鈥檚 case.

Miller confirmed Friday that BCEHS received a 911 call at 2:38 p.m. on June 9 for a patient experiencing shortness of breath in the 6400-block of 120th Street in Surrey.

鈥淏ased on the information from the caller the call was triaged in our dispatch centre as a Yellow call (requiring a non-lights-and sirens ambulance response),鈥� she said. 鈥淎n ambulance was dispatched and en route was diverted to respond to a more urgent, time-critical call. At 2:57 the fire department was notified of the call. A second ambulance was dispatched and also diverted to a higher acuity call.

鈥淎t 3:59 we received a call from the fire department to cancel the call and indicating the patient was being transported by family.鈥�

tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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