The ambulance that arrived at the scene of a tragic Gimli skydiving accident on the weekend took 36 minutes to get to the scene, Shared Health said.
Winnipeg filmmaker Jean du Toit, 53, was killed on Saturday evening while skydiving in the Gimli area, jumping out of a plane with three others.
Du Toit, described by friends and colleagues as a beloved veteran of the Manitoba film community, was wearing appropriate safety gear at the time of the accident and was a very experienced skydiver.
According to RCMP, although her parachute opened correctly, she appears to have been caught in a spin which led to the fatal accident.
“The call for service for this incident was received just after 7:11 p.m. An ambulance was dispatched about two minutes later,” a Shared Health spokesperson told Global News.
“The nearest available ambulance at that time travelled from an area northeast of Selkirk and arrived at the scene at 7:47 p.m.”
Resources stretched thin
The Gimli area is typically serviced by a pair of ambulances, but on the weekend, only one was in service.
With that ambulance already out on the road in Eriksdale, help had to be called from an area northeast of Selkirk — a drive that would take a law-abiding motorist roughly 45 minutes.
Shared Health said the long wait time resulted from a high number of sick calls amongst staff, and unsuccessful attempts to fill them.
Extended ambulance wait times in rural areas of the province are nothing new, the Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals (MAHCP) said Wednesday.
The association said on any given day in Manitoba, up to a quarter of ambulances are sitting parked because of staffing shortages.
“We would like to acknowledge the bystanders on scene who provided assistance until paramedics arrived,” says Bob Moroz, association president.
Shared Health says the province is prioritizing recruitment efforts for EMS personnel.
With files from Sam Thompson
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