New LifeFlight plane will free up N.S. ambulances
HALIFAX, N.S. — Emergency Health Services (EHS) unveiled a new LifeFlight airplane for transporting patients in Nova Scotia on Friday morning.
The specially outfitted PAL Beech 1900 turboprop, with a patient capacity of four per trip, will transport non-critical condition patients from Yarmouth and Sydney to Halifax for testing and treatment.
EHS officials hope that the new LifeFlight plane will reduce strain on ambulances and reduce wait times for patients in need.
“The best place for ambulances and paramedics to be is in their communities, helping people when an emergency strikes,” Michelle Thompson, minister of Health and Wellness said in a news release.
EHS estimates that the new plane could take the place of up to 12 ambulances a day, keeping the vehicles within their communities.
It will also reduce the amount of time required to get patients to the care they need. Where it takes roughly five hours to transport a patient from Yarmouth or Sydney to Halifax by ambulance, the plane will cut that time down to just an hour.
“Long-haul transport medicine takes a toll on paramedics,” Daniel Gee, a primary care paramedic with EHS, said in a news release. “I am excited to go from working behind the scenes to a clinical environment in the new aircraft.”
The plane is part of the province’s contract with PAL Aerospace. It is the second of two aircraft, with the first plane being used for critical care. The new plane will cost roughly $5.9 million a year.
