It’s been one of the busiest holiday seasons in recent memory for members of Parkland Ambulance Care Ltd., but it’s difficult to pinpoint why.
The organization dealt with what spokesman Lyle Karasiuk called an unusually high number of motor vehicle collisions over the weekend, and that’s not the only thing keeping paramedics busy.
Karasiuk said falls and the flu bug have lead to a high call volume this December, but it’s difficult to identify one single cause.
“We’ve been noticing that since the snow started to fly,” he said during an interview on Wednesday. “We’ve been seeing a higher than usual number of falls, and again … it’s just been such a variable winter.”
Karasiuk said icy conditions over the holidays have contributed to the problem, as has the holiday rush, which means people take fewer precautions when crossing icy streets or sidewalks. However, he’s hesitant to say weather is the problem.
For more on this story please see the Dec. 29 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.
