REGINA – Saskatchewan is aiming to expand its emergency medical services by adding new helicopters that can respond more quickly to traumas.
The plan to supplement the existing airplane and ground ambulance services was announced in the throne speech that kicked off the fall session of the legislature Wednesday.
A year ago, Saskatchewan’s health minister suggested the project wouldn’t fly because of the cost, but Premier Brad Wall said things have progressed. Wall said there’s a lot of corporate backing for a "flying emergency room" in the province.
"I think in the next little while you’re going to hear of significant commitments of support from oil companies and others that really think this is important. So it’s made it much more feasible," said Wall.
"The level of interest from the corporate sector is such that this is very doable."
The project will work in co-operation with the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) program in Alberta.
STARS gets about 75 per cent of its funding through private donations from individuals, services clubs and the business community. The rest comes through a collaborative agreement with Alberta Health Services, according to the organization’s website.
Melfort member of the legislature Rod Gantefoer, a former finance minister, is heading up the project in Saskatchewan. He said it could cost $17 million or $18 million.
However, Gantefoer said with corporate donations, the province’s share should eventually be lower than $10 million. The government has already been approached by Crescent Point Energy, which offered $5 million for the project.
Gantefoer said it could be 14 to 16 months before the helicopters get off the ground. The helicopters would be based in Saskatoon and Regina where they can cover about 95 per cent of the province.
"I think that for people who either live in or travel through rural Saskatchewan, the quality of care in advanced trauma incidences certainly is not as good as it could be," said Gantefoer. "To have a trauma-room-trained nurse and a trauma-room-trained paramedic – and about 20 per cent of the missions a trauma-room doctor – arrive on the scene of a severe incident is tremendously important."
Lt.-Gov. Gordon Barnhart read the 15-page throne speech from an iPad.
One of the first orders of business in the session will be the introduction of a resolution that calls on the federal government to reject BHP Billiton’s proposed takeover of PotashCorp.
The Saskatchewan government is firmly against the bid, saying it does not provide a net benefit to the province or the country.
The speech promises more cuts to the education portion of property taxes. It also outlines the government’s plan to introduce legislation to protect whistleblowers in the public service, to authorize the monitoring of telephone conversations by inmates in correctional centres, and create a new health ombudsman.
The government also plans to introduce legislation that will require people to have photo ID when voting in provincial elections.
"I think it’s important to always be balancing the people’s right to exercise their franchise … with the importance of proper of voting. I think we can provide a little bit more stringent requirements or clear requirements for identification, still accommodating those who may not have a photo ID," said Wall.
The Opposition New Democrats criticized the speech as "particularly thin gruel."
NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter said it focused too heavily on the past and lacked a forward vision from a government entering the final year of its mandate. Lingenfelter also questioned the timing of the emergency helicopter program.
"In principle, absolutely we would like as much ambulance and as quick as possible, but at what expense and where’s the money coming from?" Lingenfelter asked.
"Because … what we’re hearing in rural Saskatchewan, that has not been a demand of the folks out in Kamsack or Leader. What they’re saying is ‘We need doctors, we have to shorten the waiting lists."’
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