A New Brunswick island is currently without its locally operated medevac services, according to the mayor.
Grand Manan, N.B., located in the Bay of Fundy, has long had its medevac services contracted out by Ambulance New Brunswick to Atlantic Charters, a local operator.
However, the recent implementation of updated Transport Canada regulations includes restrictions on duty and rest times. As a result, Atlantic Charters has been in contract negotiations with Ambulance NB.
“My understanding is as of Monday, (Atlantic Charters is) not able to provide medevac services,” Bonnie Morse, the mayor of the village of Grand Manan, said in an interview on Friday.
She said they feel “caught in the middle” of the negotiations, which has caused a lot of anxiety on the island.
Poor weather leads to challenges
Although there is an island hospital, the facility does not have the resources for high-acuity cases.
Without the longtime operator, Grand Manan residents will rely on resources from the mainland.
This has been a cause for concern because poor weather can result in lengthy delays before an aircraft can land and pick up a patient.
That was the case earlier this week when additional resources were required to transfer a patient.
“I can tell you that poor weather conditions contributed to the challenges surrounding a patient transfer from Grand Manan on Wednesday evening,” Adam Bowie, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, said in an email.
Bowie said the Canadian Forces Joint Rescue Coordination Centre responded, and the patient was successfully transported to the Saint John Regional Hospital.
According to Morse, this instance showed their concerns were warranted.
“At the end of the day, there was going to end up a patient on Grand Manan, and getting them from Grand Manan to Saint John was going to become way more complicated,” Morse remarked.
Meeting with the province
On Thursday, members of the Grand Manan village council travelled to the mainland for a meeting with Premier Blaine Higgs, Health Minister Bruce Fitch and Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West MLA Andrea Anderson-Mason.
Speaking with reporters in the New Brunswick legislature on Friday, Fitch shed light on the discussions.
“Our department had put together two sides with the mediator trying to work out some of the differences,” Fitch stated.
“In the meantime, we are asking the feds for an exemption because the rules are quite difficult, especially in a remote area like Grand Manan.”
Fitch said a contingency plan includes planes in Moncton, helicopters in Nova Scotia and, as a last resort, the Grand Manan ferry, which is an hour-and-a-half trip to the mainland.
Morse said while they are thankful for the staff at the Grand Manan Hospital, who have seen an increased workload due to the changes, she’s hoping a resolution is prompt.
“People always felt confident, comfortable in the fact that if something happened to them or a member of their family, that they would have the same access to health care that rest of New Brunswick does, and there’s discomfort this week that we don’t have that same service,” she said.
‘Saddened’
Global News reached out to Ambulance NB for confirmation but was directed to Atlantic Charters.
“In any circumstance that we are unable to engage Atlantic Charters for their services, ANB has additional contingencies in place to support medical evacuation from Grand Manan when needed,” a spokesperson for Ambulance NB said in a statement.
Atlantic Charters did not return a request for comment before publication time. However, in a social media post on Thursday, the charter company confirmed it could no longer continue the service.
“Under the new regulations, we are unable to accept medevacs without the necessary support and need to add additional crew to be in compliance with the new regulations,” the post states.
“We are saddened by the position we have all been put in and look for a resolution with the Province that benefits our community.”
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