Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’d like to follow up on some previous statements and questions that I’ve had in this House to the former Minister of Health and Social Services pertaining to the provision of medevac services that medevac patients from the Northwest Territories receive when arriving in Edmonton for care.
The Health Quality Council of Alberta has concluded its report and come up with 18 recommendations to mitigate the loss of medevac flights to the City Centre Airport. The report finds that the move would transform hospital transport times in Edmonton from the shortest in the country to the longest in the country. Council CEO John Cowell was quoted at a news conference as saying the point we’re making is there’s a huge potential for an adverse event occurring to a patient who is caught up in a delay.
Mr. Speaker, I do look forward to the Government of Alberta and other stakeholders acting upon these recommendations, but the fact remains that the runway at the City Centre Airport that had instrumentation which allowed for flights to land in bad weather has been closed. Medevac flights are being diverted to the International Airport without any of the recommendations being acted upon. The safety of our residents is being jeopardized every time a medevac gets diverted to the International Airport. To date, 44 medevac flights have been diverted to the International Airport. Although we’ve not had a bad outcome, the reality is, it’s only a matter of time, Mr. Speaker.
The sooner a solution is found and the recommendations are acted upon, the better. In an ideal world, the City Centre Airport would stay operational; however, that does not seem to be the direction that the City of Edmonton is taking. In March the former Minister stated that she had officials that were directly part of the Quality Council review. I’d like to know how we were involved in that review, in the development of that report, and who was protecting the interests of our residents, and in going forward, who is going to be working with the Government of Alberta to ensure our concerns are adequately addressed, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Ramsay. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Abernethy.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Like my other colleague today, I’d like to speak about the Edmonton airport closure. The closure of the Edmonton City Airport has alarming implications on our medevac patients. Our medevac patients already face a very long flight from the NWT to Edmonton for help, Mr. Speaker. Now their transportation time from the airport to the hospital is getting much longer. To be frank, Mr. Speaker, access to timely health care emergency services is the single most important priority I have; as well it’s of great concern to many northern residents.
In the context of the changing of the airport, the Health Quality Council of Alberta has put the facts down on the table that need to be addressed. Medevacs are now adding additional travel time. For example, a 40-minute drive to the Royal Alex Hospital from the International Airport instead of the old five-minute drive from the Muni. Mr. Speaker, as well, a 31-minute drive to the U of A Hospital instead of the previous 13 minute drive. Simply put, Mr. Speaker, driving times from the airport will be longer for seven of the eight hospitals in the Edmonton area. As we all know, defining a hypothetical outcome may be unrealistic, but, Mr. Speaker, the fact is, common sense will tell you delays mean risk. Simply put, this could mean the difference between life and death.
Mr. Speaker, the issues before us are quite simple. How is this government dealing with the potential risks and what is their involvement on dealing with these problems? The Health Quality Council studied the impacts and they came up with a 75 page report with 18 clear recommendations. My issue is this: is the government going to ensure that it takes northern input and continues to advocate our position? What will be northern input and involvement from the Minister’s point of view, because northern input is critical for a long-term solution.
Mr. Speaker, recommendation number one was to establish a transition advisory committee. Mr. Speaker, I will hope that the Minister of Health and Social Services will tell us today that he is fully committed to being involved in this process and he will clearly designate someone we know, understand and respect, to be involved in that process. Mr. Speaker, I urge the Health Minister also to see this as an opportunity because, Mr. Speaker, change is inevitable, but let’s see this as an opportunity to examine the medevac travel protocols that we use now.
Mr. Speaker, we can’t put all the blame on the change that’s happening. It’s now our chance to look at how we issue emergencies, what type of aircraft we send to these types of emergencies, and how we make the final call to have a medevac.
Mr. Speaker, let’s see this as an opportunity and do something about it by putting northern health care first. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
