NDP says data shows Alberta's emergency medical services in crisis

Alberta's Opposition NDP says new data shows a health-care system in crisis due to long wait times.The Alberta Health Services Emergency Medical Services quarterly dashboard from early April shows ambulance response times in urban areas got progressively worse in the past year.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley says those numbers are another sign of an ambulance and hospital system under extreme stress.

In the past week, there have been reports of ambulances lined up outside hospitals, surgeries being diverted and long wait times at children's hospitals in Calgary and Edmonton.

Mike Parker, a paramedic who is the president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, says the system needs more staff. He says those who are working are getting physically and mentally ill or ending their careers early.