SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The partial closure of Edmonton City Centre Airport has already had a negative effect on the medevac system, according to a report released by the Health Quality Council of Alberta May 5.

Included in the report are 18 recommendations to help ensure patient safety when the city airport closes for good and medevac flights are rerouted to Edmonton International Airport.

The review was done at the request of Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Minister of Health and Wellness Gene Zwozdesky in October 2010.

At the top of the list formulated by the HQCA is the need to create a transition advisory committee to oversee the relocation, as well as building a new medevac facility at the international airport, outfitting all ambulances with a GPS and building an additional on-ramp to the Queen Elizabeth highway to allow faster travel times to the city and its hospitals.

Ed Schlemko, president of Airco Aircraft Charters in Edmonton, said that since the partial closure on Aug. 3, 2010, 44 medevac flights have been rerouted to the international airport, which is further outside the city.

"They said there were no bad outcomes, but it's only a matter of time," Schlemko said.

According to the report, 45 patients labelled "time dependant" and 174 labelled "urgent" arrived at the city airport from the Northwest Territories between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010.

In total, more than 4,300 patients landed at the Edmonton City Centre Airport. A total of 99.8 per cent of all medevac flights into the city from within Alberta landed at the city airport. The rest landed at Edmonton International.

Dr. John Cowell, CEO of the Health Quality Council of Alberta, said the change could have a negative impact on critically-ill patients.

"Will this have a consequence on health? Well, that's what we're worried about."

Medevac flights from the Northwest Territories, as well as Nunavut, the Yukon, northern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and northern Saskatchewan have been directed to the city airport since the 1930s.

In July 2009, Edmonton city council voted to implement a phased closure of the airport, citing a report that estimated the land could accommodate 32,000 homes and bring in an additional $95 million in property taxes.

Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel said the fate of medevac patients is now in the hands of the provincial government of Alberta.

"We're not going to do anything going forward. That's a provincial responsibility," he said, adding, "business will be taken care of."

Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins said although the focus of the report was "bang on," more work needs to be done to ensure medevac patient safety in the future.

He said he hopes the NWT has a voice on the transition advisory committee, but added the ideal situation for Yellowknifers is for the city airport to remain open.

"Let's be frank. People are being sent because the emergency is so significant that they have to be medevaced to Edmonton. Time is of the essence," Hawkins said.

Bob Gamble, the Yellowknife Seniors' Society second vice-president, said the government needs to be more aggressive to ensure medevac travel times remain low.

"I've had three friends that have had brain aneurysms. In one case the person died, even with immediate medical access," he said.

"In the other case the person made it because of a very, very timely medevac response."

The City of Edmonton estimated that it would cost $35 million over five to 10 years to keep the city airport usable, but Schlemko said that the necessary upgrades outlined in the 18 recommendations could cost a lot more.

Paul Laserich, co-owner of Adlair Aviation, said the 18 recommendations are "ludicrous" and that authorities shouldn't be "starting all over again" when they already have all the infrastructure in place in the city.

Laserich added that ever since he had two family members use medevac services, he has gained a new appreciation for the proximity of the city airport to medical services.

"To be able to get off the airplane and jump in a cab and be there in minutes, it makes a big difference," he said.

"Mayor Mandel should see what it's like to live up here, because in Edmonton they have the luxury to call 911 and help is on the way. We don't have that option."

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