Wife’s death after 1.5-hour ambulance wait prompts Edmonton doctor to demand change

Dr. Guy Blais says his wife’s condition deteriorated during the 84 minutes between his first 911 call and the arrival of an ambulance. Elaine Warren-Blais, 65, died after falling ill at the couple’s Edmonton home.

Elaine got out of bed early on July 24 and collapsed. She fainted again when Blais tried to help her up, then became cold, clammy and short of breath. As a family doctor, Blais knew she needed immediate hospital care.

He called 911 at 4:52 a.m. Dispatch collected his information but could not say when an ambulance would arrive. About 40 minutes later, as Elaine became unable to stand or walk, Blais called again and said she needed an ambulance urgently. He said dispatch again took the information.

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In medicine, we have this thing about the ‘golden hour’ that if you get somebody treated within the hour, they’re more likely to survive.

The ambulance arrived at 6:17 a.m. While paramedics assessed Elaine, she lost consciousness and went into cardiac arrest in the front room of the home in Edmonton’s Riverbend area. Additional EMS crews arrived to help perform CPR, start an intravenous line and move her to the ambulance.

Elaine suffered another cardiac arrest on the way to the University of Alberta Hospital. Medical crews performed resuscitation and shocked her twice, but could not restore a normal heartbeat. She died shortly after arriving. The family is waiting for the medical examiner’s findings, while Blais has filed a complaint with Alberta Health Services. He and Elaine’s sister are criticizing what they describe as a deeply fractured health-care system.

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From the time of the first 911 phone call to the time help arrived was about an hour and 24 minutes.