CHSJ news learning new information regarding the incident in Grand Manan over the weekend where a heart attack victim had to wait 3 hours for Ambulance NB to arrive to take him to the Saint John Regional Hospital.
An hour after the air ambulance was called, they were told it wasn’t en route, but was actually in Halifax. That’s according to Gina Urquhart, who’s 60-year-old father-in-law suffered the attack. She tells CHSJ news they called the air ambulance at 2:50pm to warn there was a chance it would be needed. They then called at 3:15pm to confirm it would be needed, at 4:20pm the nurses called to check it’s ETA, and were told at that point it was in Halifax. It wasn’t until 6:15pm that it finally arrived.
Urquhart says the three hours of waiting was extremely frustrating and nerve wracking, especially since there was an Atlantic Charters plane going unused. She adds when Ambulance NB arrived they didn’t offer an explanation as to why they were in Nova Scotia an hour after they were called.
On the Ambulance NB website, the service based in Moncton says it transports patients to specialized hospitals in Halifax and Quebec when needed.
She’s thankful no permanent damage was done to her father-in-law, but she’s worried as to what could happen in the future.
CHSJ news will be speaking to the CEO of Ambulance NB later this afternoon.
