The recent decision by Navigation Canada to stop helicopters from landing in the Jackson campus field by Shuswap Lake General Hospital for emergency patient pick-ups and evacuations continues to raise concern at city council.
Coun. Debbie Cannon said that since the story was published, she has received “tons of phone calls by people outraged that helicopters can’t land there anymore.”
She noted Interior Health area director Peter Du Toit, who was in attendance at the meeting, said he hoped to discuss the matter with hospital administration, but had not yet had a chance to do so.
Du Toit did say that in the case of an extreme emergency, a chopper pilot may have the discretion to land on the Jackson field, though he couldn’t really speak to this as it would be up to BC Ambulance.
“In terms of Interior Health, and the times and the benchmarks we use, fortunately our airport is close at hand and often the chopper can’t fly and then the patient has to come in a fixed-wing aircraft anyway and then they have to go to the airport,” said Du Toit.
Du Toit noted it’s the packaging of a patient into an ambulance that tends to take up the most time. He intends to provide council with more information at a later date.
