Saiva Brar was trying out for a AAA hockey team Saturday at Calgary’s Stu Peppard Arena. The 14-year-old did his best to impress the coaches while his dad, sister and grandmother watched from the stands. It was a few minutes into the game when Saiva was hit from behind.

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“I woke up on ice. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t scream and I couldn’t move my body for a long time,” Saiva said. Saiva’s father said he didn’t want to panic, but he was worried. Story continues below ad “As a dad watching, you hope he can get up,” Dubby Brar said. “He didn’t get up. He wasn’t moving. “He was still for a long time and then things got real.” Saiva on the ice with his trainer. Courtesy: Dampy Brar The trainer steadied his son, keeping him calm, holding his spine and neck steady. One of the coaches called 911. The seconds became many minutes. After waiting for half an hour, Dubey said a fellow parent in the stands — an off-duty firefighter — stepped in to call dispatch. “He was frustrated and said, ‘Let me make the call.’ “When he found out it wasn’t even sent, you could see the tension in his eyes and he said, ‘OK, we’ve got to call the fire department and get my boys to take care of this kid,’” Dubey recalled. Story continues below ad

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“I was on the ice for 45 minutes. That’s a long time without an ambulance and without a stretcher,” Saiva said. “It was a painful experience for me” His mother, Gurdeep Brar, was not at the arena and was receiving updates from her husband. She was sick with worry and is now furious with the health care system. “Where are the politicians? Is it not the voice of the people? Where is the outrage? Where is their action plan?’ said Gurdeep. Saiva with a neck brace at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Courtesy: Dampy Brar “Its a shame. What country do we live in where we can have a 14-year-old child lying on cold ice and no one comes forward to help?” Story continues below ad The family’s social media posts have been flooded with responses. “The messages I get are (things like): ‘People are dying because the ambulances aren’t coming.’ This is a frustrating time for Canadians right now,” Dampy said. The family hopes to trigger action.

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“How many health workers around the world come here and are immigrants who are medically trained and our government doesn’t recognize their degrees? I understand rules and regulations, but the human body is the same. Why can’t these people be identified quickly?’ said Gurdeep. In a statement, Alberta Health Services spokesperson Kerry Williamson acknowledged the delay and apologized. “AHS EMS is currently dealing with extremely high volumes, which is affecting response times. In this case, EMS can confirm that all available ambulances in Calgary were already attending to the patients and there was a delay in response,” the statement said. “We apologize for the inconvenience the patient experienced while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. EMS would welcome the opportunity to speak with the family and ask that they contact AHS patient relations.” 1:33 AHS data shows high levels of ambulance strain in Edmonton Previous video Next video Story continues below ad The Brar family said their teenage son ended up being taken to the Alberta Children’s Hospital by fire department vehicle. “We spend more time on scene on medical calls waiting for AHS to arrive,” said Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth. “There is no beef with doctors on the scene, but the system needs some care and attention in terms of the number of resources available.” The Healthcare Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) is leading an independent review of how EMS responded to a fatal dog attack in June.

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It took 30 minutes for an ambulance to reach 86-year-old Betty Ann Williams, who had been fatally attacked by three dogs. HQCA will review procedures and protocols surrounding EMS response. It was scheduled to be completed by the end of September, a spokesman said, with no update available at this time. “This is an opportunity for us to have an opinion on the system that the system has to improve,” Dampy said. Related News © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.