An Edmonton man transported an injured stranger to hospital after being told ambulances were unavailable for hours, raising concerns about emergency response delays in the city
Edmonton Man’s Emergency Call Highlights Healthcare Concerns
Richard Gendron, an Edmonton resident, had a recent experience that changed his view of healthcare in Alberta. On Sunday, while outside his advertising shop on 75th Street in southeast Edmonton, he found an injured man and called 911 for assistance.
Gendron noticed the man’s hand was blue and feared he might have hypothermia or frostbite. The man told Gendron he had been attacked and could not walk.
“I came out of that door with a snowblower, and he was right here. And he was crawling on his hands,” Gendron explained. “And I said, ‘What happened?’ He says, ‘I think my legs are broken.’”
Police arrived about 20 minutes later, but Gendron reported that no ambulance came.
“I don’t know how bad this guy is. I say, ‘I can see the bone. I can see his foot going in the wrong direction here.’ So I say, ‘I don’t know if he’s bleeding, I don’t know what’s going on, I’m not a paramedic.’ And they say ‘Neither are we.’ And I say, ‘Well, when’s EMS coming?’ and so the police make a phone call, and they say we don’t have an exact time for you. It could be an hour, it could be two hours, and I say, ‘What do you mean?’ and he says, ‘They’re not available. Period.’”
Gendron then decided to take the man to the hospital himself, but he said police officers would not help the man get into his van.
“To get no help from the police, none? Not even help to push this guy into the truck? I’m sorry. I have no trust in the police either anymore,” Gendron stated.
Edmonton police confirmed they responded to a call about an assault around 3:45 p.m. on Sunday.
In a statement to CityNews, they said the person who called declined to wait for an ambulance and chose to drive the injured man instead. They noted, “Both the complainant and reporter indicated they were comfortable with this arrangement. The reporter indicated that he could not lift the complainant, but the complainant confirmed that he was able to get into the vehicle on his own.”
The police also confirmed that the man declined to wait for EMS.
Alberta Health Services confirmed to CityNews that EHS-Alberta was dispatched to the scene after the police arrived and assessed the scene’s safety.
“While responding to the event, the unit was tasked to a higher acuity call. The patient chose their own transport prior to the arrival of the next available unit, and EHS was stood down. When dealing with high volume, we balance the safety of our crews and the acuity of other patients needing the health system to prioritize our responses to events,” the statement read.
Gendron expressed that he will seek help from others in the future.
“There’s no trust in the system at all. None whatsoever,” Gendron said. “If there’s an accident, we can’t count on EMS, I’m sorry. We have to count on the people around us, just like we do on farms.”
Summary of Events
| Event | Details |
|---|---|
| Date | Sunday |
| Location | 75th Street, Southeast Edmonton |
| Injured Man’s Condition | Blue hand, possible hypothermia or frostbite |
| Police Arrival Time | About 20 minutes after the call |
| Ambulance Status | No ambulance arrived |
| Police Response | Confirmed assault call at 3:45 p.m. |
| Patient Transport | Patient chose to be driven by Gendron |
