VANCOUVER Temperatures in parts of B.C.’s Interior are forecast to be close to 40 degrees this week, just weeks after the province sweltered through a record-breaking heat wave. According to Environment Canada, Kamloops is expected to reach 38 degrees on Tuesday, and highs of 37 are predicted for Kelowna. On Saturday, meteorologist Doug Lundquist told CTV News Environment Canada was “close to issuing another heat warning” for some areas. On Sunday, the weather agency did issue heat warnings for the Fraser Canyon, Cariboo, 100 Mile and South Thompson regions. “I want to stress it’s nothing like what we saw in June, but my concern is that it’s ongoing,” Lundquist said.
The awful toll of B C s deadly heat wave laid bare: Hundreds dead, paramedics on stress leave and citizens asking — what went wrong?
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Heat Wave in Northwest Overwhelmed Healthcare System
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There were reports of people in distress waiting several hours before an ambulance arrived. Sometimes, when paramedics finally arrived, the caller was dead.
Union president Troy Clifford told Global News that the union was embarrassed by BCEHS leadership and had a meeting scheduled with Health Minister Adrian Dix to discuss staffing shortages and to address archaic rules like that in which rural paramedics are paid $2 an hour when they are on shift and only get paid a full wage when they are on a call.
In a prepared statement, the Ministry of Health said it had invested “massively” in the ambulance service, increasing the BCEHS budget from $424 million in 2017 to $560 million in 2020.