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Taxis sometimes better: paramedics
By STAFF
The city's ambulance service budget has suffered to the point that taxis are sometimes a better way to get to hospitals, a paramedic union says.
The Professional Paramedics Association of Winnipeg is raising alarms about a May 29 incident in which a woman suffering abdominal pain waited more than 45 minutes for an ambulance, then called a taxi after giving up on it.
"It's pretty bad when you have to resort to calling a taxi," union spokesman Tommy Walsh told The Sun. "This was categorized as a high-priority lights and sirens response, based on her age and where the abdominal pain was located."
The union is also concerned about the use of a police car this past Saturday to take a youth to hospital after he was assaulted and suffered a head injury, Walsh said.
But fire-paramedic spokesman Robin Alford said while hospitals and the ambulance service can become backed up, patients shouldn't find it necessary or preferable to call cabs.
"The patient is the one who cancelled the trip and decided to go with the taxi, not us," Alford said.
In the other incident, cops made a "judgment call" to take the teen for treatment, he said.
"It's not the preferred methodology, but it does happen," Alford said.
By STAFF
The city's ambulance service budget has suffered to the point that taxis are sometimes a better way to get to hospitals, a paramedic union says.
The Professional Paramedics Association of Winnipeg is raising alarms about a May 29 incident in which a woman suffering abdominal pain waited more than 45 minutes for an ambulance, then called a taxi after giving up on it.
"It's pretty bad when you have to resort to calling a taxi," union spokesman Tommy Walsh told The Sun. "This was categorized as a high-priority lights and sirens response, based on her age and where the abdominal pain was located."
The union is also concerned about the use of a police car this past Saturday to take a youth to hospital after he was assaulted and suffered a head injury, Walsh said.
But fire-paramedic spokesman Robin Alford said while hospitals and the ambulance service can become backed up, patients shouldn't find it necessary or preferable to call cabs.
"The patient is the one who cancelled the trip and decided to go with the taxi, not us," Alford said.
In the other incident, cops made a "judgment call" to take the teen for treatment, he said.
"It's not the preferred methodology, but it does happen," Alford said.
