A family from NS worries about the shortage of ambulances

A Nova Scotia mother says she had to drive her son to the hospital herself on Canada Day when no ambulance showed up after more than 40 minutes.

Hundreds of people celebrated and attended events across the Maritimes on Friday, and many are eager to resume the festivities in person. Felicia Holden and her eight-year-old son Jaxson were attending waterfront events in Pugwash, Nova Scotia when the incident occurred.

« When he got into the bouncy castle he went through it pretty fast, and when he came out he said he wasn’t feeling well and he was dizzy. We were going to take him home , but when he started walking he was white as a ghost and passed out. Not once, but twice,” Holden said.

They immediately called 911, but help was slow to arrive.

“We waited at the water’s edge for half an hour and 40 minutes and then took him to the hospital ourselves. We were there another 45 minutes before the paramedic even arrived,” Holden said.

Holden says he was later told there was no ambulance in the area. She says the closest was over an hour away in Pictou, NS.

« When the paramedic came to the hospital she explained herself and said she was sorry. She said she had been begging for an ambulance to stay in Wallace so there would be at least one on the nearby shore, but they wouldn’t leave them there. They sent them to Pictou, » Holden said.

In an email to CTV News, Emergency Health Services states in part: « The event the family attended was one of many held in communities across the province on Canada Day, which has strained the province’s emergency response resources.EHS Operations is working very closely with its health sector and government partners to find solutions to these issues, and has contributed a number of changes over the past few months to that end.”

Despite the explanation, Holden still believes there should have been an ambulance in town during this time.

« Since there were hundreds, if not more, at Pugwash at the time because it was a big event, so there should have been one anyway, » Holden said.

Holden says she’s glad a nurse was in the area and is on hand to help and keep the family calm.

Meanwhile, EHS said it was deeply concerned to hear about the experience and to understand how stressful these situations can be.