Nakusp B.C. senior dies while waiting for ambulance

Nakusp has had full-time 24/7 paramedic service since last November but when a man in his late 60s had a medical emergency at home last month and died, no ambulance was available.

The West Kootenay village of Nakusp has had full-time 24/7 paramedic service since last November to serve its 1,600 residents, but when a man in his late 60s had a medical emergency at home last month, no ambulance was available.

The community’s mayor, Tom Zeleznik, is a close friend of the patient and said after the man’s wife and a friend called for an ambulance, they eventually decided to transport him themselves. He did not survive.

“They waited for about 45 minutes to an hour and realized that he was starting to go downhill fast and had to get him to the hospital,” Zeleznik told Global News in an interview Saturday.

“And as they were going down the road, he had a massive heart attack.”

Troy Clifford, provincial president of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC, said what transpired is a failure to manage resources and have a balanced emergency coverage plan in place for Nakusp – when round-the-clock ambulance service is not in effect.

“It’s unacceptable,” Clifford said. “I think the ambulance service and government fell short on this one.”

BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) said it received a call at 11:59 a.m. on Jan. 29 to respond to a patient at a residence in Nakusp.

The Nakusp ambulance was not staffed at the time because of “staffing shortages due to illness.”