As helicopter air medical service gets closer to landing in Regina, an expert who has been involved in helipad development in other jurisdictions will assess the Regina General Hospital's roof as a landing pad.
"When you consider safety for patients and the crew, safety for folks on the ground, whether that be the hospital site or the surrounding neighbourhoods, certainly the planning to date is leading in the direction of a rooftop helipad," said Deb Jordan, executive director of acute and emergency services with the Ministry of Health.
"If you look at most other major urban built-up areas where a helicopter air medical service operates, helipads on rooftops - or sometimes they're cantilevered off the side of a building - tend to be used more often."
Structural and engineering work must be done to determine the feasibility of that option. Jordan debunked the rumour that parking spots at the General would be razed to make room for the helicopter to land on the ground at that site.
Until a permanent site is found, the helicopter air ambulance service will land at the Regina International Airport and patients will be taken by ground ambulance to the General.
Jordan expects the Shock-Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS) helicopter will start serving Regina and southern Saskatchewan in April or early May.
Meanwhile, renovations continue on an existing hangar, purchased by STARS from Redhead Equipment Ltd. The building includes space for the helicopter, aircraft engineering equipment and medical and aviation crew training and staging areas.
STARS is a non-profit organization that provides rapid and highly specialized emergency medical air transport for critically ill and injured patients. It will complement Saskatchewan's existing emergency medical transportation services.
Jordan expects the fee for the helicopter medical service will be on par with current air ambulance fees, which are $350. Patients will be responsible for paying the cost of ground ambulance services, which are typically between $250-$325 either way. Patients will be billed by the Ministry of Health, not STARS.
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com
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