Couple billed after Alberta hospital calls 911

Alberta Health Services iswaiving the $395 fee a young Edmonton couple were billed for ambulance transport after staff called 911 frominside the hospital.

Steven Leckie suffered a diabetic seizure at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital recently while he was visiting his fiance, Erin Schmidt, after she had the couple's baby girl.

Staff gave him glucose tablets but then called 911. When paramedics arrived, they put Leckie on a stretcher and transported him three floors to the emergency department. The paramedics stayed with him for about 20 minutes.

On Monday, Leckie received a bill for $395 from Alberta Health Services.

"It's a pretty high cost for a three-floor transport," he said. On Thursday, AHS officials said the cost will be waived.

"This case was reviewed and it was decided that they would waive," said acting CEOChris Eagle. "I'm not certain of the detail of the case in particular, but it was clear that the charge should be waived."

The couple still can't understand why nurses called 911 in the first place.

"You wouldn't expect that hospital staff would have to call 911 to deal with an emergency in the hospital," Schmidt said.

Not fully equipped

Alberta Health Services said it's uncommon for medical staff to phone an ambulance from inside the hospital. But it can happen if that particular area of the hospital isn't able to deal with a specific emergency.

Leckie still finds that hard to believe.

"It's kind of shocking," he said. "I don't think everything is running as smoothly as it could. It could be worse, but they definitely could be a lot better."

Backlogs in Edmonton and Calgary emergency departmentshave made headlines over the past two months.

In October, a letter from Dr. Paul Parks, the section president of emergency medicine for the Alberta Medical Association, was leaked to the media.

In it, Parks warns the province's health minister and the premier that emergency care in the province would face a "catastrophic collapse" unless more is done to deal with backlogs. The letter included numerous examples submitted by doctors where patient care was compromised by extreme wait times.