Man dies waiting for air ambulance

There was plenty of reaction to a tragic accident that left one man dead and another seriously injured in Labrador City March 18.

The two men were working on a lift at the Iron Ore Company of Canada when they fell approximately 24 feet to the ground around 2 p.m. that Thursday afternoon, according to media and police reports.

George Kean, president of USW Local 5795, told the Aurora he was at the hospital when family members were told that an air ambulance had been requested for 56-year-old Eldon Perry.

The air ambulance didn't arrive in Labrador West until six hours later, and Perry died while waiting.

"It's unacceptable for anyone to have to wait for six hours for an air ambulance," said Kean. "For that family, they will never know whether or not their loved one may have survived if he had been medivaced to the Health Sciences Centre."

Kean says there is no excuse for delays when it comes to emergency services and says an air ambulance shouldn't have to come from St. John's; the aircraft should be stationed in Wabush and ready to go when emergencies arise.

Delay confirmed

Labrador-Grenfell Health's Boyd Rowe confirmed there were some delays associated with the provincial air ambulance service that particular evening. The air ambulance stationed in St. Anthony was responding to another call and the St. John's air ambulance had to respond. Rowe said he did his own inquiry into what happened.

"We sought some information on the sequence of events that happened," said the health board's CEO. "We consulted with Eastern Health because they are the health authority responsible for coordinating the air ambulance program. And in the course of discussions we learned the time frames. The medivac was requested at 6:49 Labrador time and there was some suggestion that the medivac plane wasn't available but it was. It wasn't the normal medivac plane that's based in St. John's, that one was down, but there was one on retainer, which is often done, and that was the one that responded to the incident in Lab. West."

Rowe said there was an issue with the onboard oxygen system that needed to be recharged, and some equipment needed to be retrieved from the Health Sciences Complex.

The delay, according to Rowe, amounted to about one hour.

The flight didn't arrive into Labrador West until 1:10 a.m. (Labrador time) Friday morning just shortly after the patient had passed away.

Times vary

As for how long it normally takes for the air ambulance to get into Labrador West, Rowe said he can't nail down a specific time as it can vary.

"I don't know because it depends on the aircraft used and the speed of that aircraft," he said. "I don't know, to be honest, what the normal flying time would be for the aircraft that was used that evening."

The accident happened at approximately 2 p.m. and the air ambulance wasn't requested until almost five hours later, but Rowe said he couldn't offer any definite explanation.

"Those are issues that are dealt with on the scene by medical personnel," he said. "And, there is no question there is some time required by medical personnel in a situation to do proper evaluations to determine the extent of whatever the problems may be. Even though the medivac wasn't officially asked for until that time, there's no doubt, before that time, there was considerable discussions with specialists and surgeons outside."

Though the man whom the request for air ambulance went out for had already passed away, the other injured man didn't go out on the air ambulance that same night. Yet, he was medivaced out to St. John's later.

"My understanding is the other individual was evaluated and examined and it was determined the air ambulance wasn't necessary," Rowe said. "Again I don't have the details around that. Those determinations are made by the medical personnel who attend to the patient when they present in the emergency department."