BC Emergency Health Services

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad has changed his story about seeing a man die of a drug overdose on his way to a televised election debate, after the BC Coroners Service said it had no record of such a death where he said it occurred.

When Nicky Fried and her husband arrived in Vancouver from South Africa more than 30 years ago, they didn't need an air conditioner.

"Oh, my God. How long am I going to have to wait?” wondered Carol Woolsey, 77, after she dialled 911 for a medical emergency and heard no local paramedics were available in her island community.

Relying on the Quadra Island volunteer fire department to maintain ambulance service in the community threatens patient safety, risks burning out firefighters and limits the response to blazes during the height of wildfire season, the fire chief says.

With local crew shortages impacting BC Ferries' ability to transport ambulances overnight, Quadra Island residents fear BC Emergency Health Services is leaving them stranded in medical emergencies.

British Columbia needs a significant shift in how it treats people who use drugs, the province's chief coroner said on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, after releasing statistics showing 1,011 people died from suspected illicit overdoses from January to June.

The British Columbia government is encouraging people to take precautions as Environment Canada forecasts the return of unseasonably hot temperatures.

One of the three men who died following an ammonia leak at an ice rink in southeastern British Columbia has been identified as Lloyd Smith, an off-duty part time paramedic.