By Ian Holmes

Ambulance crews in Parksville responding faster to life-threatening calls

Nov 27, 2018 | 2:33 PM

PARKSVILLE — A significant drop in response times to life-threatening calls for help in Parksville has been reported by The BC Ambulance Service.

Lance Stephenson, Vancouver Island director for the BC Ambulance Service, said the average lights and siren call has seen crews arriving in seven minutes as opposed from nine between May and October.

He said more of a focus in Parksville on day and evening duty has made a big difference, in addition to two additional paramedics on staff in Parksville.

“By tweaking both the shift times where paramedics are on shift and adding two more bodies we’ve seen a significant decrease in the response times to life-threatening calls,” Stephenson told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Stephenson said Qualicum Beach also received two new full time paramedics in March as part of a large influx of resources to the mid island.

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B.C Emergency Health Services stated there wasn’t enough data to determine how serious call times in Qualicum were impacted.S

Stephenson said doubling the size of full time paramedics in Nanaimo to 48 has taken pressure off neighbouring departments.

“We’ve been able to push those ambulances back out of Nanaimo and into surrounding communities like Parksville.”

The BC Ambulance Service responds to roughly 20,000 calls a year in the Nanaimo and Oceanside regions, according to Stephenson.

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