Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Earlier today I spoke about the many shortcomings of the recent changes in our GNWT medevac program in which our family and friends are now being dropped off and orphaned at the new Air Operations Centre at the Edmonton International Airport. Admittedly, like many of you, I was led to believe that in preparation of this new service all was good, that patient care was paramount and that full communication would be shared with Regular Members of this House and residents of the NWT during its process.
Well, with little advanced notice and only two weeks into this new program we are now seeing the exposed results of this new secretive investment, which is now begging some serious questions that need to be asked of our Minister of Health and Social Services.
During a recent press release, the Minister of Health and Social Services stated, “I believe we have achieved our goal and in fact have improved the quality of patient care.”
Can the Minister please explain to this House, how is adding over 35 minutes of patient transfer time, in any way, shape or form, an improvement of quality patient care? Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Dolynny. The Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The fact that the Edmonton Centre Airport closed down was not a decision that laid with this government. The fact that there is more time to fly to the International Airport is because it happens to be further away than the Municipal Airport. However, what I was referring to was the care once the person arrived. We are able to move the person that is being medevaced to Edmonton into an ambulance service that would take them through the city and we are able to hand them over at the airport instead of outside, or having a contractor that we were contracting from here pick them up outside of the Municipal Airport and bringing them to the hospital. We’re using that service that all of Alberta is using, the ambulatory service that all of Alberta is using, we’re tying into that and we figure it’s a good service and we figure that’s an improvement. Thank you.
On the subject of handing over our patients to a contractor, we’ve all heard that this new Air Operations Centre is in the same hangar space of the so-called STARS helicopter. So can the Minister indicate to this House how many times has this STARS helicopter been used in the last two weeks to transport our NWT critical care patients to Edmonton hospital emergency wards?
I don’t have that information, but the Member did mention that it was not used. So I’m assuming that there was no requirement for a STARS helicopter to be used to transport patients from the Edmonton International to the hospital. So likely it hasn’t been used at this point. Thank you.
In my statement earlier today, I spoke about the new barriers of effective patient transfer that we’re now exposed to. Many of these barriers dealt with the lack of continuity of patient care, increased communication errors potential with multiple patient or practitioner interventions and the patient’s undue stress with these new imposed drop-off services. Can the Minister indicate how his department is dealing with all of these shortfalls? Thank you.
If we thought there were shortfalls, we wouldn’t be putting in such a system. We feel that this is an improvement. We’re handing a patient over the same way that all of Alberta that medevac people into Edmonton hand their patients over. We think we’re handing them over to the Alberta Health Services at that point and we think that the patient is getting good care, excellent care from the time that they arrive. They’re able to go into the terminal, they’re able to turn the plane around quicker, the medevac plane can have a patient waiting there, delivered there by Alberta Health Services and the transfer can be done in the hangar at the International Airport and the plane bringing back the patient can be turned around a lot quicker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Dolynny.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I can assure you that the rest of Alberta is having the same concerns as many NWT residents have in terms of the quality of the care in this transfer program. It’s not just the NWT.
Finally, we have the issue of contract and cost, with this new Alberta Health Service’s offering. Can the Minister indicate what the so-called new, improved drop-off services is costing NWT taxpayers and how long is this contract?
There is no contract. They are doing this under an intergovernmental agreement with Alberta and it’s costing $600,000 a year.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. The Member for Frame Lake, Ms. Bisaro.
