A resident of Ashcroft, BC, died of what is reported to be cardiac arrest while waiting for an ambulance to become available, which is the second time in less than a month that an Ashcroft resident has died as a result of ambulance delays..Mayor Barbara Roden told CTV News the man was walking his dog Sunday morning when he suffered a heart attack, but despite being within sight of the local ambulance station it took paramedics roughly 30 minutes to respond..Volunteer firefighters helped, however they were not equipped to deal with a medical emergency of that nature..The man has since been identified as Gerald (Jerry) Spooner, 84, by family..“We will miss the booming gravely voice, the endless stories. Jerry was so proud of all of his boys and his grandchildren. He loved them all so very much,” reads a Facebook post from Spooner’s wife, Nancy, referring to him as "her beloved cowboy.".Less than a month ago, on July 17, an Ashcroft woman also suffered a heart attack within sight of the ambulance station and died after waiting nearly 30 minutes for paramedics to arrive..Similar incidences had been occurring across the province, such as on August 4 when a man in Surrey died of self-inflicted knife wounds while waiting half-an-hour for an ambulance.."Every corner of BC is suffering from unprecedented staffing, recruitment, and retention issues," reads a recent statement from Ambulance Paramedics of BC, a union representing more than 4,500 ambulance paramedics and emergency dispatchers in BC.."We do not have enough paramedics and dispatchers to meet the call volume and demand for service. We have never seen our ability to respond to patients in their time of need be in such peril.”.In June, the BC Coroners Service released a report about the province's famous "heat dome," which broke more than 100 provincial temperature records last summer..In several instances during the event, 911 callers were told there was no ambulance available to help. In at least 50 instances, paramedics took longer than 30 minutes to arrive. In more than a dozen instances, 911 callers were put on hold for “an extended period of time.”.One year later — amid an aging population, a worsening illicit drug toxicity crisis, and more — the problem has no solution in sight, and BC’s emergency communications centre is urging the public to use 911 services “more responsibly.”.“We’re seeing some of the highest emergency call volumes we’ve experienced in our 23 years of service,” said Jasmine Bradley, E-Comm executive director of communications and public affairs in a recent statement..READ MORE: BC emergency department closed again due staff shortage
