So many ambulance questions

I would like to get the real story behind the B.C. Ambulance Service.

Lets start with:
How many ambulances are available to the Kelowna and Westside area per shift?
How many of those are manned by advanced life support crews?
What areas do the Kelowna and Westside crews cover?
Is it true that ambulance crews must stay with patients after arriving at Kelowna General Hospital(KGH) until a nurse gives them the okay to leave?
Is it true that getting a patient into a emergency bed could take up to six hours and therefore you have the ambulance crews tied up and unavailable to assist anyone else?
I saw nine ambulances in KGH parking lot at one time and they were still there two hours later, how many does that leave on the streets of Kelowna and Westside?
Out of our total allotment of paramedics, how many are full-time?
Is it true that on call paramedics are paid $2.00 to wear a pager and be available to respond to a call if needed?
If they do not get paged out in say a 12 hour shift, what would their wage be for that day?
I would assume that for $2.00 per hour -- they don't sit at the station during that shift so what is their response time once paged?
Would that not put lives at risk waiting for a paramedic to come from home?
Is it unusual for paramedics to work longer than a 12 hour shift -- and if so are they paid overtime?

I've also noticed there is a new ambulance service in town. What are they used for?
What training do their crews have?
Do they have all the equipment like BC ambulance does?
Can they provide advanced life support?

All these questions are important to me since I care for a very elderly parent and they should be important to every member of this community.



Val Schewe