KIMBERLEY—A coroner’s inquest has revealed alarming details about poor working conditions for B.C.’s paramedic dispatchers that demand immediate attention from the Campbell government, NDP Labour critic Chuck Puchmayr said today.

Puchmayr is attending the coroner’s inquest into the deaths of four men and women who died on the job -- Doug Erickson, Bob Newcombe, Kim Weitzel and Shawn Currier. The four workers, two of them paramedics, perished in the decommissioned Sullivan mine on May 15, 2006.

“The B.C. Ambulance Service has a central dispatch office in Kamloops that services the Interior of the province. And testimony heard at the inquest has revealed that dispatchers are working in a difficult and highly stressful environment,” said Puchmayr. “Because the centre is understaffed, dispatchers are expected to work twelve and a half hour shifts, often without a break. This raises concerns that the public is being put at increased risk.”

“Dispatchers are no better off than they were when the incident at Sullivan Mine took place,” said Norm Macdonald, NDP MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke, who also attended the inquest. “A recent sewer backup forced the centre to move to a temporary location. And staff are still waiting for improvements to be made to the original centre. It is unacceptable that the B.C. Liberal government is allowing these working conditions to persist at the Kamloops dispatch centre.”

“I don’t want to prejudge the findings of the inquest, but the information we’ve heard so far paints a troubling picture that demands immediate action from the Campbell government,” said Macdonald.