Barriere Health Center (Image credit: Global BC)

By Connor Gunn, with files from Kristen Robinson/Global BC

BARRIERE INFANT DEATH

Barriere child suffers fatal cardiac arrest after “delayed” ambulance response

Aug 28, 2022 | 8:00 PM

Global News in B.C. has learned a child under 12 months old suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in Barriere Thursday (August 25).

Although BC Emergency Health Services says the closest available ambulance was dispatched, the union representing B.C. paramedics says there was a delayed response.

B.C. Emergency Health Services is reviewing the call but refused to say how long the response time was or explained the reason for the delay.

“In this situation, any delay in a critical situation like this is fundamentally wrong,” says Ambulance Paramedics of BC President, Troy Clifford.

The paramedics union says if the two stations in Kamloops are busy or short of ambulances, Barriere paramedics can head south.

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“From what I understand it’s reported on this day is they were called into Kamloops to assist with calls and coverage in Kamloops as opposed to staying in Barriere to make sure they had coverage there,” Clifford adds.

Mayor of Barriere, Ward Stamer, says “that’s not right.”

‘We need our ambulance service to be there to protect the people when we need it and not to steal our resources so that they can go to a larger centre,” Stamer says.

Clifford followed by saying, “we need to address the staffing issues so we don’t have these scenarios anymore.”