A firefighter and the Deputy Mayor of Middle Arm on the Baie Verte Peninsula, is recounting yet another disconcerting health care story.

Morris Chipp says the local fire brigade responded to a medical emergency in the town shortly after 10:00 a.m. Monday morning.

Chipp says the man in question had passed out and fallen three times, requiring medical attention. Chipp says the fire chief called 911 for an ambulance, but little did they know the events which would then ensue.

He says they were told that the ambulance in Baie Verte wasn’t available, but one would be coming from La Scie. After a 45-minute wait, they were told that the ambulance in La Scie had been dispatched to Grand Falls-Windsor, and then they were told that it was en route. Chipp says the ambulance finally arrived after 3:30 in the afternoon.

Chipp says it’s simply not acceptable and with two active mines on the peninsula, and a local logging industry, he worries about timely access to health care.

“I shudder to think what would happen if we had a major accident or a major accident on the highway with this kind of service, I mean, it’s just not acceptable.”