A new ground-based critical care paramedic team is operating in the Fraser Valley.
Based in Langley, the BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) Critical Care Transport (CCT) Program provides specialized, pre-hospital and inter-facility treatment and transport for critically ill or injured patients across the province.
The new unit will primarily transport patients with life-threatening conditions who require constant monitoring and support from hospitals in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Langley to major medical centres throughout the Lower Mainland. Most of their calls will be transporting patients to a higher level of care, but when they are not assigned to a critical care transport, they will be available to respond to pre-hospital 911 calls.
“When we reviewed the types of calls that paramedics in the Fraser Valley were doing, we found that more and more of their work was transferring patients to higher levels of care outside the local area,” said BCAS chief operating officer Les Fisher. “Adding a dedicated critical care paramedic team in the Fraser Valley will enable us to provide this specialized service in a more consistent manner and allow the local crews to be more available in their primary response areas.”