911 dispatchers in Nova Scotia have been advised not to reveal ambulance locations

Just days after it was revealed that an injured Dartmouth, N.S., the man waited in his driveway for three hours for paramedics to arrive from Parrsboro, 911 medical emergency dispatchers say they were told not to tell other emergency responders where ambulances are coming from.

According to the union representing medical communications officers, an email sent to its members on Aug. 13, four days after the event, instructed personnel to disclose only the projected time of arrival to police and fire services, but not the location from which ambulances are deployed.

According to Jeff Callaghan, national director of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents around 50 communications officers with Emergency Medical Care, the email did not explain why the directive was made.

"We don't think it's a coincidence that this is the communication that goes out after the incident with the Parrsboro call," he said. The ambulance service and a medical communications center in Nova Scotia are operated by a privately-owned firm, which is contracted by the provincial government's Emergency Health Services branch.

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