Nova Scotia woman concerned over ambulance delays after husband’s death

BARRINGTON, N.S. -

A Nova Scotia woman is sharing her concerns over ambulance delays in the province.

Brenda Maxwell’s husband of almost 50 years died after suffering a heart attack at home on Jan. 12

She says emergency care didn’t arrive fast enough.

It all started when he said he didn’t feel well that morning, so Maxwell decided to call for help.

“I called 811, 23 times,” she said. “The line was busy.”

After attempting 811 numerous times, her husband started to feel worse, so she called 911.

“And the man who I was talking with told me to find low-dose Aspirin. He said, 'When you get them, call me back',” she explained.

“The second time I called was 11:29,” Maxwell added.

An ambulance arrived minutes later; it had taken half an hour.

“But he had lost oxygen and blood to the brain,” she said.

Her husband died in hospital days later.

The closest ambulance base to Maxwell’s home is less than five kilometers away, in Barrington Passage, but the paramedics union says rural ambulances are often sent to cover areas in other parts of the province, such as Shelburne, Yarmouth or even Halifax.

“And that’s happening more frequently where we have to send up, it's into the Halifax area because they’re all tied up with off-load delays at all the hospitals,” explained Kevin MacMullin of IUOE Local 727.

The head of provincial operations for EHS says units in Shelburne -- 30 minutes away -- were covering the area at the time.

“There was a high call volume that had come in, as well as the challenges that we’re currently experiencing with ED closures and extended off-load times,” said Charbel Daniel, EHS executive director of provincial operations.

He says the standard for response time in a rural area, set by the province, is 30 minutes or less.

But for Maxwell, that standard is too long.

“I will never know if they got here on time, if they had been here, would he be OK?” she said. “I will never know.”