A Labrador West woman who had to wait for an air ambulance for emergency surgery is hoping that by sharing her story she can get others to come forward.
Jackie Greenham took to social media about the air ambulance service, and what she feels is a staffing issue.
Greenham, a breast cancer survivor, was undergoing chemotherapy two years ago when she came down with an infection. They admitted her to the local hospital right away, she said, but told she would need to go to St. John’s for emergency surgery.
Have you experienced an issue with Air Ambulance putting your life or the life of someone you love at risk by not...
Posted by Jackie Greenham on Tuesday, August 18, 2020
The air ambulance was supposed to be dispatched that day to bring her from Labrador to St. John's, she was told, but it didn’t show up until the next day. She was given several different reasons as to the reason for the delay, which made her concerned.
“I was panicking," she recalled. "I was a cancer patient; I had an infection, and I felt really afraid of what might happen. I did end up getting out the next day but unfortunately, I’d missed my surgery and had to reschedule it.”
She never found out exactly why it was delayed, she said, but another experience earlier this year raised a red flag again. Her brother had a heart attack and needed to be brought to the island, but they were told the air ambulance wasn’t available.
Greenham said she was told some people working on the flight had called in sick and there wasn’t enough staff to cover them. She contacted her local MP, who helped her find out more.
"This isn’t a recent problem, it’s come up over the years. Clearly, there’s still a gap here." — Jackie Greenham
“We got some information, but there wasn’t much we could do to expedite the flight. If they didn’t have people to man it, they didn’t have people to man it,” she said.
“I know it has to be frustrating to the health-care providers, they’re doing the best they can do.”
There are several factors that can influence the air ambulance service in Labrador that people cannot control, she said, such as weather and when multiple calls come in at the same time. However, staffing is something that can be controlled, she said, and should never be an issue with an essential service.
“We live in a remote, industrial community. What if something happened at one of the mines? This isn’t a recent problem, it’s come up over the years. Clearly, there’s still a gap here," she said.
Since she’s had this issue in her family twice in two years, Greenham figured she wasn’t the only one who had encountered delays with the air ambulance. She’s hoping by sharing her story she can find others, collect stories, and go to government with the evidence of what she thinks is a long-term problem.
Issue appears solved for now: MHA
Labrador West MHA Jordan Brown told SaltWire he had a meeting last winter where delayed air ambulances was among the subjects raised. He was told there had been difficulty recruiting qualified pilots and flight crew, although that issue appears to be solved for the moment.
“It comes up (from) time to time, but knock on wood, it seems to be rarer in the last year," said Brown. "There have been some staffing changes, but now and then, there are still delays because of multiple calls, things like that.”
Difficulties in finding qualified specialized professionals isn’t a recent problem in Labrador, Brown said, and is part of a larger issue the region faces.
The air ambulance service in Labrador is looked after by two different government departments. The flight crew and plane are the responsibility of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, while the Department of Health and Community Service handles the medical crew.
SaltWire contacted both government departments and was told via email by a spokesperson for Transportation and Infrastructure that the department has seven aircrew and four aircraft maintenance engineers in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, with two current vacancies that do not affect the delivery of air ambulance services.
The Department said in the event of a staff shortage, it can share aircrew resources between Happy Valley-Goose Bay and St. John’s bases, and if there is a time where the backup crew and second crews are unavailable, staff work overtime.
“Government air services provides the air ambulance coverage for 12 hours a day and the air ambulance contractor position in Happy Valley-Goose Bay provides another 12-hour coverage per day to give the province 24 hours,” the statement read. “Delays may occur if aircraft and crew are already dispatched on another mission. If this occurs, a second air ambulance or a contractor is available.”
Many of the same stories
Paula Gale, who also lives in Labrador West, saw Greenham’s post and also had an experience with a delayed air ambulance for staffing reasons. On Dec. 9, 2019, her husband Paul was admitted to hospital with chest pains. They decided he would be airlifted to St. John’s the next morning, Gale said, but that didn’t happen. It didn’t arrive until nine days later, on Dec. 20.
During the interim, Gale said, they were told four times an air ambulance was on the way.
The first time, they were told an emergency had diverted the plane; the second time, someone from the flight crew called in sick and there wasn’t a replacement; the third time, it was weather-related; and the fourth time, they were told the flight crew had timed out.
They had enough by then, Gale said, and started reaching out to local politicians. The next day, her husband was airlifted out with other patients who had been waiting for days, she said.
“I think there are many of these same stories in our area and we need to keep this conversation going and make a change," she said. "The residents of Labrador deserve better access to necessary healthcare. We need to demand better from our government officials and stop putting people’s lives at risk because of the lack of services to our area.”
Gale said she wanted to point out the system works perfectly sometimes and if crews are available, the system works as it’s meant too.
Evan Careen is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering Labrador for the SaltWire Network
