Province makes changes to improve ambulance response times SHARE ON: Photo of BC Ambulance (Vista Radio Stock Image) After an unprecedented number of deaths related to the recent heat wave, the province is overhauling B.C.’s ambulance service.. Provincial funding will go towards 85 new full-time paramedics, 30 full-time dispatchers, 22 new ambulances, and converting 22 rural ambulance stations to 24/7 ALPHA stations. Six are scheduled to be running by this October. Plans for up to an additional 16 stations will be ready around the same time. Health minister, Adrian Dix, says this will quicken response times while relieving pressure on first responders. “This immediate action on operations, as well as stronger leadership and increased investment at BC Emergency Health Services, will deliver a more effective ambulance service for patients and families depending on it,” Dix said. “And of course we have to support our workforce: our ambulance paramedics (and) our dispatchers.”