'There should have been one': N.S. mother drives son to ER after waiting nearly an hour for ambulance
A Nova Scotia mother says she had to drive her son to hospital herself on Canada Day when no ambulance showed up after more than 40 minutes.
Hundreds celebrated and attended events across the Maritimes Friday, with many eager to get back to in-person festivities. Felicia Holden and her eight-year-old son Jaxson were attending events on the waterfront in Pugwash, N.S., when the incident occurred.
“When he went in the bouncy castle, he went through it pretty fast, and when he came out, he said he wasn't feeling good and was dizzy. We were going to bring him home, but when he started to walk, he was white as a ghost and passed out. Not once, but twice,” said Holden.
They called 911 right away, but help was slow to arrive.
“We waited down at the waterfront for a half-hour, 40 minutes and then we took him up to the hospital ourselves. We were there another 45 minutes before the paramedic even arrived,” said Holden.
Holden says she was later told there were no ambulances in the local area. She says the closest one was more than an hour away in Pictou, N.S.
“When the paramedic came to the hospital, she did explain and said she was sorry. She said she had begged for an ambulance to stay in Wallace, so there would be at least one on the shore close by, but they wouldn't leave them there. They sent them to Pictou,” said Holden.
In an email to CTV News, Emergency Health Services says in part, "The event attended by the family was one of several held in communities across the province on Canada Day, which placed an added strain on emergency response resources provincially. EHS Operations is working very closely with its health care and government partners to find solutions to these issues, and have made a number of changes in recent months with that goal in mind."
Despite the explanation, Holden still feels there should have been an ambulance in town during that time.
“Since there was hundreds, if not more, in Pugwash at that time because it was a big event, so there should've been one around anyway,” said Holden.
Holden says she's glad a nurse happened to be in the area and was on scene to help and keep the family calm.
Meanwhile, EHS said they are deeply concerned to hear about the experience and understand how stressful these situations can be.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer filled with relief and grief following acquittal in death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.