Investigation launched after man dies on street

The B. C. Ambulance Service is investigating an allegation that paramedics left a disabled man in need of medical help out on Downtown Eastside streets in sub-zero temperatures Saturday night, where he later died.

The man’s body was found Sunday morning lying on the ground beside his wheelchair on Hastings Street.

Speaking to BCTV News on Global, Mary Joe said she phoned 911 three times before midnight, saying the man had pneumonia and needed help.

Michael Sanderson of the B. C. Ambulance Service said paramedics received one emergency call shortly after 11: 30 p. m. He s a i d a n e m e r g e n c y c rew responded, checked out the man and left.

He said he did not know the details of the medical situation paramedics encountered, but that will be part of the investigation.

He said paramedics were called out again at 8 a.m. Sunday in response to a “ cardiac-arresttype” call. They found a man they believe was the subject of the initial call dead on the sidewalk about half a block from where they had seen him the night before.

Vancouver police officer Chris Burnham told Global it doesn’t appear the man died from exposure. He said the B.C. Coroners Service is investigating the cause of death.

It’s unclear whether the man was homeless, but Joe said he is well- known in the Downtown Eastside.

Sanderson, regional director for the B. C. Ambulance Service for the Lower Mainland, said Joe’s comments have prompted a review of exactly how Saturday night’s emergency call was handled by crews, which will include interviews with the paramedics involved.

“ We take service complaints

very seriously,” Sanderson said in an interview Sunday. “ We’re in the process of looking into the issue by pulling our dispatch logs and t a l k i n g t o t h e c r ews involved.”

Interviews with the crew members are scheduled to take place today, Sanderson said.

Sanderson said paramedics have no authority to transport patients to hospital if they are unwilling to go. That requires the intervention of police, he said.

It’s unclear in this case whether the man refused to be taken to hospital.

Vancouver police are also conducting a separate investigation into the man’s death; but the investigating officer was not available to provide any information on the case Sunday.

VPD spokesman Const. Tim Fanning said information would be made available today.

The man’s death has also triggered a review of the conditions under which emergency shelters should be opened, said Michael Anhorn, coordinator of extreme weather shelters in Vancouver, Langley and the North Shore.

Normally, the shelters only open when temperatures dip below -4 C, or when there is significant snowfall or freezing rain.

Emergency shelters were not open Saturday night, and permanent shelters on the Downtown Eastside were full.

Anhorn said Sunday that shelter service providers and volunteers were deeply upset at news of the man’s death.

“ People working in the shelters spend their lives trying to help the people who are homeless in Vancouver,” he said.

Anhorn said that because of snow and freezing rain, up to 250 extra shelter beds were expected to be opened Sunday night in Vancouver, Langley, North Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver and West Vancouver.

The shelter sites are located in churches, community halls and social service agencies, and provide a warm, dry place to sleep for the night.

Anhorn said the emergency shelters are funded by the federal government to open five nights per year, with the cost of any additional night openings covered by the province.

Last year, shelters were opened for a total of 14 nights.

The emergency shelters are in addition to homeless shelters that currently exist. In Vancouver, Anhorn said, those shelters typically turn away about eight people every night of the year because they are full.

dahansen@png.canwest.com