Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek says the city will conduct its own independent review of a dog attack that killed an elderly person, but adds that the EMS office is responsible. of the death of the victim.
He made the remarks Thursday afternoon after Prime Minister Jason Kenney, Health Minister Copping and Acting President and CEO AHS Mauro Chies responded to the deadly attack on Sunday.
Prime Minister Jason Kenney, speaking at an availability meeting at the University of Calgary, responded to the situation, saying the EMS took too long to arrive. He also said AHS should do everything possible to find out what happened.
“I understand AHS and the paramedic in chief are doing an investigation, working with the Calgary Police Service,” he said. “They have to go to the bottom of this, find out what went wrong in the communications so that this doesn’t happen in the future.”
Mauro Chies, interim president and CEO of AHS, said there will be an independent review of the EMS response to the dog attack on June 5. He said it is expected to take “about four months”.
“In addition, AHS is conducting a quality assurance review, which is designed to identify areas where the system can be improved and strengthened,” he said.
Chies says AHS will take steps to improve services where there are deficiencies in its system.
“We’re taking action. We’re adding additional ambulances, including 19 to Calgary and Edmonton. Nine of them will be deployed later this month.”
Chies added that he is grateful to all the EMS staff in Alberta.
“To the paramedics and public safety partners who attended Sunday’s scene, thank you for your attention.”
On June 5, Betty Ann Williams, 86, was mutilated by her neighbor’s pit bull dogs while gardening.
Another resident called 911 for help, but the EMS took about 30 minutes to arrive to treat Williams’ injuries.
The victim was taken to hospital but later died.
Authorities say they are still working to determine what happened, but preliminary reports indicate that according to the information provided by the caller, dispatchers classified the situation as “not life-threatening.”
“DEEP IMMERSION” IN THE REPORT
Health Minister Jason Copping added that he understood that there were concerns about the government’s decision to consolidate 911 shipping services, but that did not affect the nature of the call.
“We have committed to the municipalities to do an independent review of this and this is ongoing.”
Once the full report on the dog attack is available, Copping said they will do a “deep dive” on what went wrong.
“We will heed your recommendations and make changes as needed.”
CALGARY WILL LAUNCH A SEPARATE INVESTIGATION
Although AHS has begun an independent investigation into the response, Calgary City Council says it will begin its own investigation and review in response to Sunday’s deadly dog attack.
“We welcome the recent announcement by the province of Alberta that there will be an independent review of this incident and we are committed to supporting this process to the fullest,” Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth said during a conference call. press on Thursday afternoon.
Gondek says he doesn’t believe the province or the AHS when he said Williams’ death was not a matter of consolidating shipping services.
“I don’t buy what they say,” he said, adding that he would love for the province review to be completed much more quickly.
“I know how the machine works, so it’s devastating that it takes four months, but I also want it done right.”
He added that no matter how long the work takes, it should not obscure the fact that the system does not work.
“They have to go back to the system that existed that was world class. We have to go back or we will lose more lives.”
AHS says the results of the independent review will be made public when they become available.