Health minister planned to keep air ambulance in St. Anthony

On September 14 last year, former provincial health minister Paul Oram not only discounted the idea of moving the air ambulance from St. Anthony, he also planned to establish a second team of medical flight specialists (MFS) in the community.

The only thing he was waiting on was funding approval.

That is according to minutes of a meeting between officials from the Department of Health, Labrador-Grenfell Health, Eastern Health, and Transportation and Works, recently obtained by the Pen through a Freedom of Information request.

The meeting addressed various issues surrounding the air ambulance program in Newfoundland and Labrador, including moving the aircraft from St. Anthony to Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

"In light of recent concerns in Labrador City regarding delayed air ambulance response, EH [Eastern Health] visited to meet with hospital officials," the minutes read.

"While there was a discussion regarding relocating the air ambulance from St. Anthony to HVGB to improve response times to Labrador and increase accessibility of the MFS for coastal flights, it was decided that no consideration would be given to relocate this air ambulance at this time."

The minutes go on to say that the health minister "supports the placement of a second team of MFS in St. Anthony (and) is awaiting approval for funding to proceed."

Just six months later, the government had backflipped on those plans and instead announced its intention to go ahead and move the air ambulance from St. Anthony to Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Labrador-Grenfell Health CEO Boyd Rowe, who was present at the meeting, did not return interview requests before the Pen's deadline.

Current health minister Jerome Kennedy also once again declined the opportunity to speak with the Pen and refute claims that the move was political revenge after the party's loss at the October by-election.

"The only thing that happened after that meeting was the election and from what those minutes tell me, it was a political move and that's it. It's what we've been saying all along," said St. Anthony Mayor Ern Simms.

"Putting another medical flight team here would've gone some way to solve their problems, but instead they just moved it and created more problems than they can handle. There are real wait times happening up there in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and I've been told there have even been a couple of deaths as a result of this move. I don't know what they're doing."

Meanwhile, St. Anthony's lawyer for the upcoming court case against the provincial government, Jim Bennett, says he's hoping health minister Jerome Kennedy, air ambulance report author Wes Drodge, and Labrador-Grenfell Health CEO Boyd Rowe will be required to testify under oath.

"We need to get those key players. I think if we hear evidence from all three of them we'll likely be able to put together a good argument for the case," he told the Pen last week.

"Clearly the terms of reference for the Drodge report were far too narrow. The methodology of only talking to councils and bereaved families - neither of which have any medical qualifications at all - to make a recommendation like this just boggles the mind. It's formed an emotional response to what is ultimately a political question."

On July 28 the court will hear St. Anthony's request for testimony from Mr. Drodge, Mr. Rowe and Mr. Kennedy. No matter the outcome, Mr. Bennett says the town plans to continue in their bid to prove that the government has breached their contract with the Northern Peninsula.

"We're moving this case along, and we're not going away."

egraney@northernpen.ca