Quebec medical helicopters have flown 114 missions

Quebec’s aeromedical evacuation service has carried out 114 missions as of Nov. 6, and has helped save more than 100 lives since it began sending helicopters last summer, according to new government data reported by The Canadian Press.

Twelve of those missions flew from the Mirabel Airport base north of Montreal, where service began on Oct. 19. The Quebec City base at Jean-Lesage International Airport started in mid-June.

Quebec is the last province to set up a public medical helicopter system, which gives people in rural areas faster access to emergency care. For now, helicopters serve patients between 75 and 250 kilometres from major urban centres.

“It’s high time we had a third option for patients in rural areas,” said Dr. James Tu, deputy director of the service, noting Quebec has only ambulances and airplanes for such transfers. He said crews have already saved the lives of traffic accident victims thanks to the helicopters’ speed and equipment.

Each mission carries a doctor, a critical-care nurse and two pilots, with room for two more crew members.

The first phase will run five years and currently covers transfers between hospitals: the helicopter picks a patient up at a regional hospital and flies them to the airport, where a ground ambulance takes over. In the coming months, flights could begin serving health clinics, particularly remote Indigenous communities, and eventually land directly at crash scenes.

A handful of Quebec hospitals have working helipads and more are under construction, including at Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus in Quebec City, which could open next year.

The service arrives as other remote Quebec communities face access problems, such as when Isle-aux-Coudres was cut off after its only ferry broke down this month.

Source: The Canadian Press.

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