Grand Manan medevac company grounded, military helicopter called in to transport patient
Province working on getting island exempted from new Transport Canada rules
Transport Canada rule changes that require the local company, Atlantic Charters, to more than double its pilot fleet to keep providing medevac services came into effect on Monday.
Ambulance New Brunswick and Atlantic Charters have been in contract negotiations because of the change, but were not able to agree on terms before the deadline.
Because of this, the company said it's no longer able to transport residents to hospital using its specialized medevac plane, and residents say they continue to fear delays in getting emergency health care.
On Friday, Health Minister Bruce Fitch said the province will apply to Transport Canada to designate Grand Manan Island a remote location, exempting it from the new rules.
"The rules are quite difficult, especially in a remote area like a Grand Manan," Fitch told reporters. "We're pushing on all ministers related to that."
Grand
Manan has had a medevac plane based on the island for years. Atlantic
Charters says it can't keep providing the service because of new
Transport Canada rules and unresolved contract negotiations with
Ambulance New Brunswick. (Submitted by Peter Sonnenberg)
When asked why it took so long to make this application, Fitch said, "the work has been started well before this," and negotiations between Ambulance New Brunswick and Atlantic Charters are continuing.
"Our department had put the two sides together with the mediator trying to work out some of the differences," he said.
Weather stopped air ambulance
On Wednesday, a resident needed emergency transportation to hospital in Saint John, and the local company couldn't help because the new rules were in effect and it did not have the resources it needed to comply.
Ambulance New Brunswick has an air ambulance based in Moncton, but the weather and freezing rain meant it couldn't get to the island, vice-president Jean-Pierre Savoie said in an emailed statement.
That's when Ambulance New Brunswick asked the Canadian Forces Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Nova Scotia for help. CFB Greenwood's search-and-rescue cormorant transported the patient.
The patient was getting care at the Grand Manan Hospital when the helicopter was called in. Savoie did not say how soon the ambulance responded or how long the trip to the mainland hospital took.
"We're grateful these contingency plans worked as they were intended," he said.
Inside
an Atlantic Charters medevac aircraft, which has specialized
health-care equipment to transport critically ill people to the mainland
for care not available at the island hospital. (Submitted by Peter Sonnenberg)
Grand Manan Mayor Bonnie Morse has previously called on Ambulance New Brunswick and Atlantic Charters to come to an agreement, because losing local medevac could mean significant delays.
The issues in dispute in the contract negotiatons have not been made public.
Morse said the main concern residents have is that it takes much longer for an air ambulance to fly to Grand Manan, pick up a patient, and fly to the mainland, compared to a local company having to make one flight from the island to the mainland. This is especially a problem in periods of fog and bad weather, she said.
She said concern from residents has only grown worse since the deadline passed.
"There's a lot of anxiety here," she said. "If something happens to me or someone in my family today, and I need medical care that requires going to the mainland, we don't have that same confidence that that's going to happen as easily today as it would've last Friday."
Morse said luckily the person who needed the emergency flight Wednesday is in hospital and in stable condition.
"Really, that is the important part of everything," she said.
Peter Sonnenberg, vice-president of Atlantic Charters, confirmed that under the new regulations, the company is unable to accept medevacs without the additional crew. It otherwise would not be in compliance, he said.
Before the rules came into effect, Sonnenberg said the company needed to have four pilots to provide uninterrupted service. After looking at the new rules and doing the math, he said the company now needs 11 pilots.
The new rules, he said, make it mandatory for pilots to have 24 hours off if they've been on duty for three 12-hour shifts in three days.
The new rules basically minimize the chances of a pilot saying they can't fly because they're too tired.
Morse previously said Atlantic Charters had 100 medevac flights last year. That would equal about 100 hours a year of flying for the four pilots back then.
"We are saddened by the position we have all been put in, and look for a resolution with the province that benefits our community," he said in a statement.
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Grand Manan residents worry about losing local medevac service
Ambulance N.B. still in negotiations with island aviation company about continuing service under new rules
Ambulance New Brunswick can't ease the minds of Grand Manan Island residents, who fear losing their medevac service.
The provincial ambulance service said Wednesday it can't comment on negotiations with Atlantic Charters — a contracted company based on the island that transports people to the mainland in case of medical emergency.
In response to a request for information about the negotiation timeline, outstanding issues and what happens if issues aren't resolved, Jean-Pierre Savoie, the vice-president of of Ambulance New Brunswick, sent an emailed statement.
"Ambulance New Brunswick has been in ongoing discussions with Atlantic Charters, but we are unable to comment on the specifics of those conversations at this time as talks continue," he said.
Bonnie Morse, mayor of Grand Manan, says the medevac service is essential during medical emergencies. (CBC New Brunswick)
Grand Manan Mayor Bonnie Morse said the islanders' main concern is that if negotiations go beyond December, when new transportation regulations come in, then residents will lose their local medevac service.
That means residents will have to depend on Ambulance New Brunswick's air ambulance program, which is run from the mainland and may not be as fast.
"With our weather and the fog, it's not always accessible for that plane to come and land on the island, which is the advantage of having a local company because it's easier to leave in an airplane than it is sometimes to come back."
The new regulations make changes to pilot duty times, and necessitated a contract renegotiation. Savoie did not say whether the negotiations means Atlantic Charters service will completely halt in December.
Savoie said Ambulance N.B.'s air ambulance program is available for every part of the province, including Grand Manan.
"We are committed to continuing with these important discussions regarding services for Grand Manan," he said.
Morse said whatever happens with the contract, her main concern is that the 2,300 people on the island can still get medical attention even if the weather is bad.
She said the medevac service is essential during medical emergencies, which the local hospital is not equipped to deal with.
"Stroke patients, they can actually bypass the hospital and go directly to the airport when they're assessed by the ambulance. And so it gets them to treatment in a much more timely fashion," she said. "For strokes, it is a really critical situation."
CBC News requested comment from Minister of Health Bruce Fitch, but he was not available Wednesday.
Corrections
- Jean-Pierre Savoie was incorrectly identified as Pierre Savoie in a previous version of this story.Nov 10, 2022 11:36 AM AT
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