A Nova Scotia woman says she waited with unbearable pain at her Tantallon home — in suburban Halifax — for hours earlier this month, but an ambulance never showed up.
Instead, the 67-year-old woman was driven to the hospital in the backseat of her neighbour’s vehicle.
“I could be dying here. And they’re not coming. They’re just not coming,” recalled Lynn McLaughlin.
It all began Dec. 18, when McLaughlin began experiencing stomach pain. It soon turned excruciating, and she made the first call to 911 but no one came.
“It was devastating. And I think it was fairly early on. I don’t know how many minutes that stretched so long when you’re in pain, but I kept saying to my daughter, ‘They’re not coming.’ Because I’d heard about it so much. People saying they’re calling and no one is coming,” she said.
The first call was placed at 5:08 p.m., with a follow-up call at 5:24 p.m.
About 15 minutes later, firefighters arrived on scene and logged McLaughlin’s vitals.
Her daughter, Erin Harrington, called four different taxi services but all of them refused to transport McLaughlin.
First responders waited with the mother and daughter for over an hour before neighbours finally drove them to the hospital. They arrived at 7:30 p.m.
“It was very, very scary to watch your mom in that much pain, and not being able to help her. I’m sure the fire department felt the same way,” said Harrington.
McLaughlin put it this way: “All they could do was stand and watch me die.”
Their neighbour, Burt Morash, said there was no question they had to rush to the hospital.
“I’d help anybody’s life, which I’ve been doing all my life. I was in the fire department for 20 years and 25 in search and rescue now. It’s what I do,” he said.
Harrington said the doctor who saw her mother said they had done the right thing rushing her to the hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance.
It turned out a bad prescription had led to a perforated bowel.
McLaughlin is now recovering at home, and says she no longer feels confident that an ambulance will come the next time she needs it.
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However, she doesn’t blame the first responders — she blames government.
“This is decisions that are being made much higher than firemen and ambulance attendants and EMT workers of any kind. That decision is not theirs.”
“Federals hold the purse strings and the provincial government and health authority must advocate for money and help.”
In recent months, other patients have been sharing their stories of long waits for ambulances.
The union representing Nova Scotia paramedics and EHS have told Global News that work is being done to help reduce strain on the system, which is affected by labour shortages.
Single paramedic response units are being deployed for lower-risk calls. As well, a physician, registered nurse, and clinical support paramedic have been added to the EHS 911 team.
— with a file from Rebecca Lau
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