The province's health minister, Adrian Dix, is expected to announce changes to B.C's ambulance service on Wednesday after several paramedics reported they were stretched to their limits during the deadly heat wave. Workers told CBC News that some dispatchers had more than 200 calls waiting for a response and lower-priority calls were left unattended for anywhere from four to 16 hours. There were 486 sudden and unexpected deaths recorded during the historic heat wave at the end of June, which broke more than 100 temperature records across the province. The BC Coroners Service said the extreme heat is believed to have played a significant role in many of those deaths. Paramedics and their union said the Ministry of Health and B.C.

Source: CBC News July 14, 2021 20:26 UTC