An independent review will follow Alberta Health Services' (AHS) initial review of the dispatch and EMS response to the fatal mauling by three dogs of Betty Ann Williams. .The 86-year-old woman was attacked on Sunday while gardening in a back alley in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood. .During the initial review of the incident, AHS determined information given to 911 led to the situation being misidentified as non-life threatening, and only Calgary police were dispatched to the scene. .Upon arrival, officers determined the woman's injuries were more serious and requested an ambulance, which was said to have arrived nine minutes later. .Williams was rushed to nearby Foothills Hospital where she died shortly after arrival. .Following the initial review, AHS determined a "further independent review is needed to ensure that any opportunities for improvement are identified," said AHS in a release following a Thursday afternoon press conference. ."The independent review will look into the events surrounding the calls to EMS dispatch, call handling protocols inside EMS and with other agencies, ambulance response time, and availability of ambulances at the time." .A quality assurance review will also be done by AHS in an effort to "identify areas" where improvements can be made to the overall system response to improve patient care. ."We are grateful for the work of the dispatch team, the care provided by our paramedic crew, as well as our public safety partners who assisted in this event," said AHS. .Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), the union that oversees healthcare professionals, said AHS was warned for years it was failing in managing EMS services in the province..HSAA President Mike Parker said failed management by AHS and failed government policy is leading to a "mass exodus" of workers.."These traumatic situations are devastating to our workers, yet they have to go right back out on the road," said Parker, referring to the tragic mauling death of Williams.."The mental health impacts on these crews has been horrible and we saw these trends coming long ago.".Parker said the union was talking about an increase in population with "zero increase in resources" 10 years ago..Staffing challenges, according to an AHS spokesperson, are due to a number of factors including many frontline workers suffering exhaustion after more than two years of pandemic response. ."We are taking action to address this," said AHS. ."We are adding additional ambulances, including 19 in Calgary and Edmonton. Nine of those will be deployed by the end of this month, and 10 more will be on the road by the end of September." .The spokesperson said AHS is also creating 100 new EMS positions with the goal of filling all positions by the end of September. ."These people and resources will make a difference. We will continue to do all we can to support our crews, add resources, and find innovative ways to reduce pressure on our system.".According to reports from Live Wire Calgary and CBC, Calgary's EMS service was in "red alert" at the time of the dog attack. ."Eighteen ambulances were waiting to offload patients at various medical facilities; this includes paramedics waiting inside the facility to transfer care, ambulance crews readying to return to duty following transfer of care, or those just arriving with patients," said Live Wire's Darren Krause in a tweet. ."All other ambulances in Calgary Zone were already assigned to events.".Results of the independent review will be shared publicly and are expected to take approximately four months.
