The provincial government is making changes to the provincial air ambulance program that includes replacing the existing aging aircraft in St. John's, adding a second medical flight team to the air ambulance program in the province and relocating the air ambulance service to Happy Valley-Goose Bay from St. Anthony to provide better response times for transfers.
Health Minister Jerome Kennedy and Transportation Minister Tom Hedderson made the announcement last Thursday explaining the changes will come with a price tag of $8.7 million.
The changes were made following the completion and analysis of a review of air ambulance services in Labrador and northern Newfoundland.
"Our government recognizes the importance of responding to health-care needs in all regions of our province," Kennedy said. "Residents of our province need to have an air ambulance program that is reliable and ensures patients are transported in a timely manner to access health care services."
New flight team
Funding of $700,000 in Budget 2010, amounting to an annual investment of $1.1 million, will support the implementation of a second medical flight specialist team to be located in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. This new flight team will significantly enhance patient care by providing additional medical professionals locally and reducing patient wait times for those needing to travel to other parts of the province for required medical treatment.
"Currently, there is only one medical flight team located in St. John's, which causes considerable delay in circumstances where the plane must fly to St. John's to pick up the team before then flying to pick up the patient for transfer," Kennedy said. "By establishing a second flight team, to be located with the air ambulance aircraft, we will ensure that the response time to emergency situations will be significantly reduced since a team will not be required to fly to the Labrador region from St. John's."
The review of air ambulance services recommended that the air ambulance aircraft be moved from St. Anthony to Happy Valley-Goose Bay. According to statistics contained in the report, there are more patient transfers from Labrador than from St. Anthony. The report recommended the air ambulance be centrally located to serve the population of Labrador City, Wabush, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Churchill Falls, the South Coast of Labrador, the North Coast of Labrador and the St. Anthony-Port au Choix region.
Mayor Barnes
Labrador City mayor Janice Barnes was in St. John's last week when the announcement was made and said, while having the air ambulance in Labrador may add up to an improvement over what's currently in place, she fears it doesn't go far enough to meet the needs of people in western Labrador.
"Labrador West is a highly industrialized area and we are going to have a total of five mining companies operating in this area in the very near future," she pointed out in a phone interview. "The very nature of what we are doing here have both towns fearful and we saw last week what can happen."
She pointed out the air ambulance was a huge concern for the area, but also the issue of proper diagnostic equipment was a serious concern that was put to Minister Kennedy and the consultant on their visit to Labrador West.
"The lack of diagnostic equipment is a major concern to our residents," she said. "There is absolutely no reason for not having one (CT scan) here."
Barnes said the Town would be dissecting the full report to determine the rationalization for choosing to station the air ambulance in Goose Bay.
Mayor Barron
Wabush Mayor Ron Barron said he was disappointed to learn the air ambulance would not be stationed in Labrador West, but says he is not surprised.
"No, it's not a surprise because government has never really heard us any time before," said the Wabush mayor shortly after hearing the announcement. "The timing of this though is surprising especially given that we had a tragedy here just a week earlier. A gentleman died while waiting for an air ambulance. I can only imagine how his family feels hearing that the air ambulance won't be put in Labrador West."
Barron says he can't believe after the minister came in and met with the people of Labrador West, that he couldn't identify the need here was greatest.
"Again it comes to government not listening," said Barron. "I am not here to say I want this air ambulance in here because with it comes some high paying jobs and it would be a boost for the economy. I want that here for the people of Labrador West, I want it here because it will save lives. And if this decision was made because we don't have a hangar here, then throw in another half million and build one."
Barron said he talked to the Labrador West MHA Jim Baker after the announcement and he said the MHA tired to explain the reasoning for choosing Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
"There is no explanation as far as I am concerned to justify not having an air ambulance here," he said. "We just had a tragedy here and it can happen again. And this announcement came so quickly on the heels of Mr. Perry's tragic death, I can guarantee this has to be an insult to his family."
Barron says he will be seeking further answers on the issue.
The air ambulance aircraft should be located in Happy Valley-Goose Bay to serve the people of Labrador and Northern Newfoundland;
There should be a second medical flight specialist team stationed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay to accompany the air ambulance aircraft to be located there;
The aircraft flight crews and the medical flight specialist teams must be sufficiently staffed to provide a 24/7 level of service;
There must be aircraft available to provide a 24/7 level of service;
To ensure consistent training and to maintain competence, the teams should rotate as necessary;
The air ambulance service should be organized as a single program with a single administrative structure;
Data gathering, reporting and analysis must be standardized;
If a third aircraft were to be considered it should be located in Deer Lake.
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