June 15, 2012 - 12:20 PM
HUDSON'S HOPE, B.C. - A woman in rural British Columbia has died while waiting for an ambulance, prompting calls for immediate changes to B.C.'s health care system.
The Mayor of Hudson's Hope says the incident happened June 8, in the tiny community nearly 400 kilometres north of Prince George.
Karen Anderson says the woman suffered a heart attack but the ambulance usually stationed in the district had been sent to Tumbler Ridge, 160 kilometres south, earlier in the day.
Anderson says it took 90 minutes for paramedics to reach the scene, and even if they had arrived in time, they would have had to transport the victim 85 kilometres east to Fort St. John, because there is no doctor in Hudson's Hope.
According to Anderson, the lack of local medical facilities is a problem endured by all rural residents, and she says the government must make improvements.
The mayor says failure to provide adequate life-saving care is not fair to those choosing to live in B.C.'s remote communities. (MooseFM)
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012