a long time coming

Recently I was summoned to court to testify.  Well, actually it was my third summons, but everytime I went the case would be delayed.  The person involved flopped back and forth from wanting a lawyer to not wanting a lawyer etc.  

On the day of court I was surprised to see so many professionals I know and work with.

From our small town, we were missing from our essential services personelle:
3 EMS
2 Doctors
4 Nurses
3 RCMP

To me that seems like a lot to be gone from town, and unavailable to work for two or more days.
I know everyone is entitled to a fair trial, but with technology available today, something better should be able to happen.  

That and the nurses waited all day, only to be asked minimal questions (three or less each), and one of us was not even needed.

Major delay in Care

Recently, a young person spent two and a half hours waiting for an ambulance at their relatively remote campsite.  It did not take the ambulance two and a half hours to get there.  Ambulances are centrally dispatched from a call center.  They must follow the dispatchers instructions.  So the ambulance was mandated to go up a road any local person knows is closed until June 1st.  It is still April.  The ambulance is two wheel drive and eventually gets to a locked gate where they must stay and wait for someone to come open it so they can continue on through 3 feet of snow - ha, not likely.  They turn around. A SECOND ambulance then leaves to go up the proper, non-snow covered highway.  By this time the patients family has been calling 911 every half hour, asking where there help is, saying that they could have driven themselves to the hospital already, which is very true.  So now the town is down two ambulances - none left for any emergencies that happen in or around town, a scary situation that should be avoided.  Second ambulance gets to the patients, and instead of being allowed by dispatch to continue on to a Calgary, which the patient needed, or to a closer more northern rural hospital, the second ambulance is mandated to bring the patient back to our hospital.  (half hour to our hospital, half hour to more northern hospital, or 45-60 minutes to a Calgary hospital - the ultimate treatment goal for the patient) 

Two and a half hours after calling 911 the patient gets pre-hospital or EMS care. Three and a half hours after calling 911, the patient gets to a hospital.  Five hours after the initial 911 he leaves for Calgary from our small hospital.  Six hours after calling 911 he would have made it to Calgary hospital.  
Approximate 6 hour total.

If things had played out differently, if the system were better, it would look like this:

911 call
30-45 minutes later EMS on scene providing care.
60 minutes after EMS arrives patient in Calgary hospital.
Approximate two hour total.

Anyone else horrified by this situation?