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Questions are being raised about why a 68-year-old cancer patient who fell outside a Halifax hospital had to wait nearly three hours for an ambulance — on the ground in between two parked cars.

The incident happened Monday outside the Victoria General site of the QEII and was all witnessed by Ashley Foster, who was visiting the hospital at the time.

The man had just left an appointment and was getting into his car, when he accidentally fell.

“All of a sudden he just went down and smashed his face,” Foster said, adding that there was a lot of blood and that the man was clearly very injured.

“I ran as fast as I could in the hospital to go get somebody. But all they could do was call an ambulance for him.”

Foster said she was shocked the hospital couldn’t do more for the man, who was injured mere metres from the hospital’s doors. She said staff told her because it was an emergency, it was an issue for the emergency department.

“He stayed out here for three hours on the ground, for three hours on the hospital ground. And all that came out to see him was security,” she said.

The man’s family spoke to Global News at the scene and confirmed he has bone cancer. Relatives said they chose not to move him out of fear he might injure himself more.

Foster said eventually, a parking attendant asked the paramedics on an ambulance, which had just dropped off a patient, to help treat the man.

He was assessed and went home.

Foster was upset by the situation, and told Global News at the scene that she felt the whole situation was an example of “neglect” in the health-care system.

“I just felt really bad for that poor, elderly man. He was out here for three hours, laying on the ground, sick with cancer, and nobody at the Victoria General would come out and help him at all,” she said.

“Just left them there for three hours waiting for an ambulance. That’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Premier responds

When asked about the incident, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said no one should have had to wait that long for an ambulance, and said he’s looking into what happened.

“I understand some people have reached out to people who were working inside the building. We’ll try to understand what — is there any liability issue for them to come in the parking lot, all these types of things,” said Houston.

“I’m just not sure. But certainly we’ll have discussions to figure out why this happened and see what we can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

He added that while investments are being made in health care, the case serves as a reminder more improvements are needed.

“There are standards for sure for ambulance response times. And, you know, we look at the data on how often that’s met. It’s being met more often,” he said.

“But these situations remind us that there’s work to be done for sure.”

In a statement, Nova Scotia Health spokesperson Brendan Elliott said they encourage everyone to call 911 if they’re experiencing an emergency at one of their facilities and “doesn’t have immediate care on hand.”

“That will begin the process of assessing if someone needs to be transported for care at one of our emergency departments,” Elliott wrote.

“While we can’t speak to the care of individuals, in this case Nova Scotia Health staff and security took steps to support and comfort the patient while awaiting the arrival of EHS.”

Meanwhile, Emergency Medical Care Inc., which operates ground ambulance in the province, said care for patients “starts as soon as 911 is called.” Matthew Crossman, president and COO, said in a statement that the care includes regular call backs to monitor the condition of the patient.

“Call backs are made by a member of MCC Clinician Team. Our Clinician Team consists of a physician, registered nurse and clinical support paramedic who are onsite in the MCC 24/7,” he wrote.

For people who witnessed the event on Tuesday, however, questions remain.

“We definitely need better health care options,” said Foster.

“If you’re at an appointment at a hospital, if you’re an elderly person, especially with cancer and you fall on your face, they or someone in the hospital should come out and check on that person — not just a security guard, in my opinion.”