FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 9, 2001

Sudbury loses air ambulance service for 13 hours in first week of private operation

SUDBURY - Residents of Sudbury and district were without critical care air ambulance service for 13 hours over the long weekend.

The lapse in service began on Sunday, just days after the Ontario Ministry of Health privatized the service on Monday, Oct. 1. Mechanical problems grounded the one helicopter at the Sudbury air ambulance base, now operated by Canadian Helicopters Ltd. (CHL). Under its contract, CHL is not required to keep a backup helicopter in Sudbury. Backup helicopters in Thunder Bay and Toronto were not called to fill in.

“Aircraft break down, and for 15 years, there has always been a backup helicopter at the Sudbury base,” said Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. “Now there isn’t. Now we see all too clearly what privatization means: it means no critical care air paramedics available for medical emergencies.”

Oct. 1 marked the start of a five-year contract between CHL and the Ministry of Health.

“We call on the Minister of Health to be accountable for public health and safety,” said Casselman. “Ontarians have a right to know: Did the Sudbury air ambulance base receive emergency calls while the service was shut down? If so, what happened to those calls? Who responded to them? How long did it take before the patients received medical help? What is the condition of those patients right now? Did human health suffer because there was no emergency air service?”

Private operators invariably have a conflict of interest when it comes to providing public services, Casselman said. “With a private operator, every decision is a saw-off between making a profit and providing better service. The profit motive has no place in life and death decisions.”

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For information: Randy Robinson (416) 448-7441; (416) 788-9034