Province’s first hospital-based heliport opens

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This article was published 28/11/2016 (3416 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It will take just four minutes for a STARS air ambulance to airlift a collision victim from the Perimeter Highway to the province’s largest hospital.

It will take just three minutes for a STARS helicopter stationed at the airport to arrive at HSC to pick up a physician, if necessary, before heading out to an emergency situation.

That’s compared to the 25-30 minutes it takes to transfer a patient on city streets from James Richardson International Airport when an amublance meets a STARS flight.

As of Monday, the province’s first hospital-based heliport was officially opened. Despite snow and sleet, dignitaries arrived at Health Sciences Centre to mark the occasion.

“With this site open, it will be easier and faster for Manitobans to get the emergency care they need,” Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen said.

The helipad was snowed in Monday morning, however the hospital and a STARS air ambulance ran a successful dry run late last week.

Members of the flight crew, in their blue and orange air suits, formed a colourful backdrop as the minister officially opened the helipad. Other dignitaries included executives from STARS, HSC and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.

The health minister, whose serves the Steinbach riding, said the helipad has been eagerly awaited, telling dignitaries that as a rural MLA, he knows how critical it is to get patients to the hospital faster.

“We know it will save more lives. It will also allow medical teams to be moved more quickly to an area. And it will lessen the (time) of moving from a helicopter to an ambulance and being off-loaded. It improves patient care and the speed with which it happens,” Goertzen said.

The helipad is located atop the Diagnostic Centre of Excellence, a new seven-storey structure that is linked to both Children’s Hospital and the Ann Thomas Building, which houses the hospital’s operating theatres.

The diagnostic centre, which will cost more than $40 million, had been expected to open months earlier but delays kept it, and consequently the helipad, waiting.

Those delays came in for some light ribbing when the health minister was asked about them.

“There were a number of different things that happened along the way,” Goertzen said. “I think this answers the long-awaited question in Manitoba: ‘How many health ministers does it take to open a helipad? The answer is four.”

The project dates back years. A fire on the construction site, which forced the evacuation of more than 100 patients, set back the project in 2013. More recently, the building had to pass safety tests and related inspections before the helipad could be cleared for use.

“The helipad’s been ready for a while, but it’s about ensuring you could actually use the building,” Goertzen said. “Landing on a helipad, but not being able to go into the building would not have helped anybody.”

— with files from Larry Kusch

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca