Grand Manan medevac company grounded, military helicopter called in to transport patient

The province is stepping in after Grand Manan's local medevac service wasgrounded, and a military search and rescue helicopter had to transport a patient to hospital this week.

Transport Canada rule changes that require the local company, Atlantic Charters, to more than double its pilot fleetto 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'sno 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 MinisterBruce 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."

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 Savoiesaid 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.

Grand MananMayor Bonnie Morse has previously called on Ambulance New Brunswick and Atlantic Charters to come to an agreement, because losing local medevaccould meansignificant delays.

The issues in dispute in the contract negotiatons have not been made public.

Morsesaid 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 deadlinepassed.

"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. Itotherwise 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.