Sick children from Quebec's remote regions now accompanied by parents 'in 98% of cases'

The government agency that manages Quebec's air-ambulance service said parents have been able to accompany their children on emergency flightsin "98 per cent" of cases over the past month.

vacuations aromdicales du Qubec (EVAQ) said it has now fully implemented its new policy, allowing caregivers toaccompany minors on medical evacuation flights.

The policy was adopted last June, aftera group of doctors launched a campaign tocallattentionto the fact that EVAQ's refusal to allow parents to accompany their sick children duringmedical emergencies threatened thewell-being of thosechildren,especiallyIndigenous children who often do not speak English or French.

Doctorsgave examples, such asneeding a child's medical history or other information to reach a diagnosis, or needing a parent's consent to perform a procedure, and the parents being unreachable trying to make their way from their remote home to their child's side.

Much has been done in the past several monthsto address these concerns, saidEVAQ's co-ordinator, Sylvie Ct.

In July, JulieIkey, a womanfrom SalluitinNunavik, became the first mother to accompany her child on a medevac to Montreal when her 12-year-old son crashed his bike, rupturing his spleen.

In the months since then, doctors said, 50 to 60 per cent of sick childrenmedevacedsouth have beenaccompanied by a caregiver.

However, Ct said the only requestthat has been refused since Sept. 14 was a father from the Gasp region who could not board the plane with his newbornbecause the four passenger seats aboard the Challenger aircraft were already taken upby medical staff.

"We then try to transport the parent with our shuttle planesto bring them as quickly as possible to the health centre,"Cttestified on Wednesdayat the Viensinquiry into the province's treatment of Indigenous people.

(EVAQhas a fleet of four airplanes to transport patients from Quebec's isolated communities for emergency procedures: two Challengeraircrafts which cover longer distances and two Dash-8 planes, normally used as a shuttle service in non-critical situations.)

Flight attendants no longer required

Last week, the Viens commission heard from Cree parents from Waswanipi, Que., who weren't able to accompany their 6-year-old to Montreal in August, after doctors suspected he was bleeding internally.

Valerie-Lynn Gullsaid her son Pelle Jr. was terrified to take off alone, and asked her repeatedly why she could not go with him. She saidshe was never told why she couldn't accompany him.

Ct said if the situation were to happen again today, Gull could likely have been able to gowith her son, because EVAQ no longer requires a flight attendant be on board to accompany the caregiver.

In Gull's case, the air ambulance would have had to make a stop in Quebec City to pick up a flight attendantbefore heading to the Chibougamauhospital where Pelle Jr. was being treated, Ct explained.

"The doctor said 'No, I prefer that he be sent right away, because he's not doing well'," she said.

Long-term changes

It took several months to implement the changesin EVAQ's new policy,Ct said.

"This summer we had a flight attendant or a nurse on board to show that the medical staff could support the parent," she said.

The policy changesalso required the collaboration of pilots and the ministry of transport, said Andr Lizotte, the director of pre-hospital emergency services with the Ministry of Health and Social Services.

EVAQhas always had to comply with aviation rules, he said.

"There has always been resistance over safety concerns," said Lizotte.

Any modifications to the layout of the airplane,tomake more room for a parent, also had to comply with the aircraft's certifications, he said.

It was only a federal regulation change in 2017 that allowed EVAQto add an extra seat in its Challenger aircraft.

"We have constraints we have to deal with. So no, it doesn't always go as fast as we'd like," he said.

He also stressed that EVAQmakes 6,000 trips made per year, two-thirdsof which are on Dash-8 shuttles, which have accepted caregivers to accompany patients for several years.

Pediatric emergency physician Dr. SamirShaheen-Hussain, one of the doctors to bring attention to the issue, said he has seen an improvement in services since "the unwritten rule of having a flight attendant accompany a caregiver has been revoked."

"It is very encouraging to see that the demands made by these communities are finally being acted upon, and that the longstanding practice of systematically separating these kids from their families is coming to a definitive end," Dr. Shaheen-Hussaintold CBCNews in an e-mail.

Inquiry commissioner Jacques Viens encouraged EVAQto continue upgrading its services, including to translateits pamphlets and policies into Indigenous languages.

"A policy can be brilliant, but you have to explain it in a way that is, as well," he said.