Ashcroft ambulance station (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

ASHCROFT HEALTH CARE CRISIS

Ashcroft residents consider moving away as healthcare challenges persist

Aug 15, 2022 | 4:35 PM

ASHCROFT, B.C. — “The system is broken in a lot of ways, we need to find fixes not just Band-Aids but permanent solutions,” said Barbara Roden, Mayor of Ashcroft.

Tragedy has struck the village of Ashcroft for the second time in month, as a local resident has passed away while waiting for an ambulance to arrive on scene.

“It’s caused a lot of fear, and will it happen again. How fearful or how worried do I have to be that it might be me on the end of the line,” said Roden.

With the ambulance responding from 30 minutes away, the local volunteer fire chief rushed to the station to grab the defibrillators and then to aid the patient. He did all that as just a private citizen.

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“We need people to realize that our volunteer firefighters are a precious commodity and we can’t afford to be putting more mental stress on them than what they have already,” added Roden.

One incident could be described as a random event. Two in one month,, however, have local residents concerned it could become a pattern.

“It’s scary. It’s something that I think we all think about, those moments of what could happen. That level of safety and security in our communities,” said local resident Pamela Berg.

“I had to take my neighbour in; he couldn’t get an ambulance. Had to take him to Royal Inland Hospital (in Kamloops),” added Anne-Marie McLean.

While concern was a common thread throughout the village, some residents are even beginning to consider moving from the community they love.

“I’m getting to that point where I’m going to have to. I just had surgery on my foot and it makes it difficult for me to live by myself,” said Joan Pellet.

“As long as one of us can drive, we will stay in a small area — but it definitely makes you think,” said Laurie Allison.

As residents consider moving to larger city centers for improved access to health care, Mayor Roden is hoping to find a solution to keep people in their communities.

“In a lot cases these are people who have lived and worked in these communities for years, they have raised there families here. This is were all their social support networks are, all their friends. They are our community volunteers; they’re our backbones. We do not want them to feel the communities are unsafe or they need to leave,” said Roden.

B.C. Emergency Health Services did provide a emailed comment to CFJC News.

“BCEHS has been experiencing some staffing challenges, and since last year, BCEHS, in partnership with the Government of BC, we have made significant changes and investments to improve and stabilize our staffing,” reads a portion of the prepared statement. “Approximately 76 per cent of all permanent positions at BCEHS are filled and we have a robust, national recruitment campaign underway to fill vacant positions.”