Emergency Response Times

A new audit reveals that ambulances in cities and urban areas are taking too long to reach patients. B-C auditor general Carol Bellringer says in the period between April 2016 and December 2017 ambulances in urban areas met the nine-minute response time target in just 50 per cent of life threatening calls. She says B-C Emergency Health Services recently added more staff and updated its dispatch process but 2018 data shows ambulances in urban areas are still only meeting the nine-minute response target 51 per cent of the time. In contrast, Bellringer says ambulances in rural and remote areas achieve — and exceed — their time targets.