SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
NWT medevacs travelling to Edmonton will continue to fly into the City Centre Airport for the time being despite Alberta Health Services (AHS) moving its air ambulance base to a new location today, according to a spokesperson for the GNWT Department of Health and Social Services.
The GNWT is still in negotiations with AHS regarding access to the new base, which is situated at Edmonton International Airport, said spokesperson Damien Healy.
The two parties have been in talks since December 2012 but have not yet been able to agree on terms, such as rates and licensing. NWT medevacs will be shifted to Edmonton International once an arrangement is in place and when it can be done "safely" and "correctly," said Healy.
It isn't clear when an agreement will be reached, Healy added, but service won't be affected.
"At no point in time would a patient's safety be in jeopardy," he said.
There is no timeline yet for the closure of the City Centre Airport. However, AHS is not waiting for the airport to shut down before moving operations.
The new "state-of-the-art" air ambulance facility was unveiled to the public Wednesday and will begin receiving patients who are being flown to the Edmonton capital from other areas today.
During the big unveiling, visitors heard presentations from Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne, Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths and AHS Emergency Medical Services senior medical director Dr. Ian Phelps.
The dignitaries justified the decision for the move, saying that waiting until the City Centre Airport closes to switch locations could put AHS in an emergency situation. Plus it wouldn't be economical to have both locations running at the same time, the officials continued.
All three also addressed wide-spread criticism over the decision to build at Edmonton International, which is considerably further from the city's major hospitals than City Centre Airport.
From the new facility, the drive time to the University of Alberta Hospital is 30 minutes compared with the previous 13 minutes from City Centre. Meanwhile, it will take 37 minutes by ground ambulance to get to the Royal Alexandra Hospital as opposed to five minutes from City Centre.
By STARS air ambulance it's about 10 minutes to the U of A and 12 minutes to the Royal Alex.
Keeping the City Centre Airport open is simply not an option, said Griffiths.
The City of Edmonton, he said, has placed a $2 billion price tag on the facility if the provincial government or AHS wanted to purchase it. On top of that, Griffiths added, if the provincial government bought the airport, it could be forced to pay ongoing tax losses to the municipality because of the lack of opportunity to develop the property.
As a result, a number of other airports were considered and Edmonton International was deemed the "safest" and "most reliable" choice. Griffiths said he is pleased with the decision.
"To comment or claim that it's simply the City Centre Airport location that will save lives is wrong," Griffiths said. "It's the care that people get from the time they need care in the North, the care they get in the hospital in the North ... the time it takes to get to the airport, the time it takes to fly in."
Horne echoed Griffiths comments, adding that if any issues with the new base are discovered they will be addressed.
"We promise you and I promise you as your health minister that if there are improvements that need to be made in order to provide the level of service that we know Albertans expect, we will make those changes," Horne said.
The new base features a six-bed patient care area for non-critical patients, a hanger large enough to transfer patients inside and dedicated ground ambulances. The building is also located adjacent to the STARS emergency air ambulances facilities.
Healy said he is impressed with the base.
"From what we've seen it looks great, cutting-edge. We're happy to be in partnership," he said.
