Toronto’s subway is regularly delayed during rush hour — two to three times a week on my route — for medical emergencies, and the delays are often long enough to make you late by 15 minutes to half an hour.I’ve always wondered just what exactly these frequent medical emergencies are, and Monday morning I found out when my Yonge southbound car was stopped at College for one of them. Here is a cartoonized but accurate version of the photo I took.
The older woman in orange appeared to have fainted. Instead of helping her off the train with a wheelchair or a couple of people to lean on, four uniformed TTC employees allowed her to continue to sit there for at least 20 minutes while they stood around and did nothing except tell me they hoped I hadn’t taken a picture because there were privacy issues.
I have been a regular user of subways in different cities my entire life and have never enountered such a high rate of medical emregencies as here in Toronto. My questions to the TTC are the following:
- What is your policy for removing sick passengers from trains?
- Is it in conformance with basic principles of first aid?
- Was it followed in this case?
AnnBrocklehurst.com 
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