When Irene Campbell called 911 after her husband collapsed in their West Vancouver home, she expected a rapid response. Instead, she waited 28 minutes for paramedics to arrive from North Vancouver.
“Those were the longest minutes of my life,” Campbell told me during a community meeting at the West Vancouver Community Centre last week. “I kept thinking about how we’ve had an ambulance station in our community for decades, and now that it’s gone, this is what happens.”
Campbell’s experience isn’t isolated. Since BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) quietly shuttered West Vancouver’s only ambulance station this past March, residents and officials have raised alarms about potentially life-threatening delays in emergency medical response.
The closure came during a provincewide restructuring of ambulance services that BCEHS spokesperson David Thompson described as “resource optimization.” But for the 44,000 residents of West Vancouver—where nearly 30% of the population is over 65—optimization feels more like abandonment.
“We weren’t consulted, we weren’t notified, and we certainly weren’t provided with alternative coverage plans,” West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager said during an emergency council meeting held Tuesday night, where more than 150 residents packed the chambers.
The statistics paint a concerning picture. According to data obtained through Freedom of Information requests filed by the District of West Vancouver, average ambulance response times have increased from 8.7 minutes to 13.9 minutes since the closure, with some areas experiencing waits exceeding 20 minutes.
For stroke and cardiac emergencies, where minutes directly impact survival rates, these delays could prove fatal. The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada notes that for every minute delay in defibrillation, survival rates for cardiac arrest decrease by 7-10%.
Chief Phil Ritson of West Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services told me firefighters are increasingly arriving at medical emergencies long before paramedics. “Our teams are doing their best with medical first responder training, but we’re not equipped with the medications, advanced life support equipment, or transportation capabilities that paramedics provide,” Ritson explained.
At the community meeting, I noticed something unusual—firefighters in uniform standing alongside residents holding “Bring Back Our Ambulances” signs. This rare public display from municipal first responders underscores the severity of concerns within emergency services themselves.
The closure reflects broader tensions in British Columbia’s healthcare system. Provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix defended the decision in a statement to Mediawall.news, citing “strategic deployment models based on call volume analysis” that would “improve overall emergency response capabilities across the Lower Mainland.”
However, those models don’t account for West Vancouver’s unique geography. Hemmed in by mountains to the north and Burrard Inlet to the south, with limited access routes and frequent traffic congestion on Marine Drive and the Upper Levels Highway, West Vancouver presents specific challenges for emergency vehicles coming from neighbouring communities.
Dr. Sarah Chen, an emergency physician who lives and works in West Vancouver, pointed out another factor: “West Vancouver has steep, winding roads, narrow driveways, and in winter, ice and snow that make navigation difficult even for local drivers. Paramedics coming from other communities may face delays simply finding addresses in unfamiliar territory.”
The issue has galvanized residents across political lines. At Lighthouse Park last Sunday, I observed seniors who’ve lived in the community for decades standing alongside young families, all gathering signatures for a petition that has already collected over 8,000 names.
“This isn’t about politics,” said Gary Pendleton, a retired business owner who helped organize the petition drive. “Nobody debates ambulance services until the moment you need one. Then nothing else matters.”
Financial considerations undoubtedly drove the closure decision. BCEHS has faced budget pressures amid rising call volumes provincewide. According to their annual service plan, emergency calls increased 25% over five years, while funding increased just 17% during the same period when adjusted for inflation.
But West Vancouver Councillor Linda Williams argues the decision represents false economy. “When ambulances come from North Vancouver, Squamish, or elsewhere, they’re unavailable to their home communities for longer periods due to travel time. This creates a cascading effect of reduced coverage across the region.”
The provincial government and BCEHS have proposed several mitigations, including stationing ambulances at “strategic posts” within West Vancouver during peak hours. However, these units remain subject to dynamic deployment, meaning they can be pulled away to calls in other communities.
Anika Singh, whose grandmother experienced a 22-minute wait for an ambulance after a fall in the British Properties neighbourhood, expressed skepticism about these measures: “An ambulance that might be nearby isn’t the same as an ambulance that will definitely be nearby.”
A group of residents has launched legal action, seeking judicial review of the closure decision based on alleged procedural failures and insufficient community consultation. Their legal representative, Martin Cohen, told me they’re arguing the closure violates BCEHS’s statutory obligation to provide “timely access to quality emergency health services.”
Meanwhile, practical solutions remain elusive. West Vancouver council has offered municipal land for a new ambulance station and even proposed cost-sharing arrangements, but provincial authorities have shown little interest in these overtures.
For now, West Vancouver residents are adjusting to a new reality. Many seniors I interviewed mentioned keeping personal medical information prominently displayed in their homes. Others described informal neighborhood watch arrangements where residents check on each other more frequently.
As our conversation ended, Irene Campbell shared one last thought that stayed with me: “My husband survived, thankfully. But I can’t stop thinking about the next person who calls 911, and whether those extra minutes might make all the difference.”
The quiet closure of a small ambulance station has revealed something significant about healthcare priorities and community expectations. As one handmade sign at Tuesday’s council meeting read: “Essential services shouldn’t disappear without a sound.”
