Alberta ambulance delays taking toll on paramedics' family lives, spouses say

Spouses of first responders in Strathcona County are raising the alarm about the pressure their partners face — and the toll it's taking on their families.

The strain of constant calls as Alberta struggles with ambulance delays has left Kari Couture's husband burned out and despondent at home.

"The fatigue that I'm seeing in my husband — just, he's broken," Couture told CBC News.

"He's breaking under the pressure of just non-stop as soon as you press clear in your ambulance, you're back to another call."

Paramedics are limited in what they can tell journalists — as are all Alberta Health Services employees — due to provisions in the Health Information Act.

Couture's husband, Elliott Davis, is involved with his local union.

Davis was not available for an interview but Couture said she has the freedom and insight as a spouse to raise awareness.

She said that when she and her husband first moved to Strathcona County from Fort McMurray in 2009, his overtime was selective and less frequent.

For the last several years that has been different, Couture said. 

She said she struggles to explain to her three children why their father is often absent, missing out on the daily events of being a parent. He wasn't there for most of their oldest's soccer games this summer.

When he is home he is exhausted or short-tempered, unable to enjoy his home life, Couture said.

"They didn't sign up for this," she said. "I didn't sign up for this."

'Rock bottom'

Andrew Spence, president of the Strathcona County Professional Firefighters/Paramedics Association, said emergency services and work around ambulances is stressful to begin with.

But that strain has compounded as ambulances are being called into other areas to keep up with demand. It's causing long delays and keeping paramedics out of their home communities.

Added to the pressure of constant calls is the mental health ramifications of showing up late on scene, Spence said.

"The politicians don't have to stand in front of the family member that's saying, 'Where have you been for the last half an hour where I've been doing CPR on my loved one?'" 

Spence said the situation is not unique to Strathcona County — where first responders function as both firefighters and paramedics.

The pressure is being felt by emergency medical services (EMS) workers across Alberta, he said.

He said the province needs to work with unions to find strategies to lessen the load, "because we've hit rock bottom."

The Health Services Association of Alberta (HSAA), the union which represents paramedics, has also raised concerns.

HSAA says resources have not kept up with population growth, a problem that has been increasing for more than a decade. COVID-19 and the opioid crisis have only made existing issues worse, the association says.

Spouses' support

Last month, a St. Albert firefighter died by suicide. The tragedy sent shock waves through the first-responder community.

The death prompted Courtney Pytyck to write a letter to the Strathcona County emergency services chief describing the toll on her husband, Michael Pytyck, who is also with Strathcona County emergency services.

"I've seen him kind of deteriorate and become more and more tired, physically and emotionally," she said in an interview.

The letter was posted to a Facebook group for the spouses of local first responders. Support and similar experiences poured in through the comments.

Couture and Pytyck connected via the Facebook group and began organizing.

They've since sent letters to government officials pleading for solutions.

Although mental health supports are available — Strathcona County offers multiple mental health supports including extended health-care benefits and a peer support team — Pytyck says the system needs fixing.

"I think the root of the problem is that they do need this support because there's such flaws in the system," she said.

'Extremely high demand'

Alberta Health Services (AHS) is working on numerous strategies to ensure the system is available during "this time of extremely high demand," spokesperson Kerry Williamson said.

AHS has seen an increase in 911 calls of about 30 per cent with service demands at historic levels.

"It is important to understand the current challenges facing EMS are not related in any way to dispatch services,"  Williamson said. "There are simply more requests for service from Albertans."

AHS has added additional resources, including community paramedics and non-ambulance transfer vehicles.

Williamson said AHS is also working with emergency partners to reduce the time ambulance crews are waiting at hospitals.