LifeFlight (Nova Scotia)

LifeFlight helicopter taking off from the Halifax Infirmary

LifeFlight is an air ambulance critical care transport service that operates in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

EHS LifeFlight is delivered under contract to the Government of Nova Scotia's Department of Health by Emergency Medical Care Inc. (EMC). EMC is a subsidiary of Medavie Health Services that, along with Medavie Blue Cross, is part of the Medavie group of companies. EMC provides medical staff however the operation of the helicopter is sub-contracted to Canadian Helicopters Limited.

EHS LifeFlight is subsidized for Nova Scotian residents and no fees are charged to patients or sending hospitals or agencies in that province. Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick contract this service and may charge a fee to their residents. Fees are charged to non-Canadian residents.

History

Nova Scotia lifeflight is an air ambulance service that provides critical care transport for patients in Nova Scotia and the neighbouring provinces. It is part of the Emergency Health Services (EHS) system that delivers pre-hospital emergency care in the province.

Nova Scotia lifeflight was established in 1996, but its origins can be traced back to the 1960s when the Canadian Forces’ No. 413 Squadron provided medical air transportation in the Maritimes under the military’s aid to the civil power provisions. The squadron used search and rescue aircraft such as the CH-113 Labrador helicopter and the CC-115 Buffalo and CC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft to transport patients from remote areas or between hospitals

In 1996, the Nova Scotia Department of Health launched the first dedicated air ambulance service in the Maritimes in partnership with CHC Helicopter Corporation and the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS). The service was initially called EHS Air Medical Transport and used a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter and a Beechcraft King Air 200 fixed-wing aircraft to provide critical care transport for patients. The service also had specialized teams of paramedics, nurses, and physicians who could provide advanced life support and trauma care.

In 2001, STARS decided not to renew its contract with EHS, citing philosophical differences over management and fundraising. The service was renamed EHS LifeFlight and continued to operate under CHC Helicopter Corporation until 2008, when Emergency Medical Care Inc. (EMC) won the operating contract. EMC is a subsidiary of Medavie Health Services, which also operates ground ambulance services in Nova Scotia under contract for EHS.

In 2008, EHS LifeFlight also replaced its helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft with newer models. The helicopter was upgraded to a Sikorsky S-76C+ and the fixed-wing aircraft was changed to a Hawker 800XP. The new aircraft had more advanced features and capabilities, such as night vision, weather radar, and satellite communication.

In 2017, EHS LifeFlight added a second fixed-wing aircraft, a PAL Aerospace Beechcraft 1900, to provide non-critical care transport for patients from Yarmouth and Sydney to Halifax. The new service reduced the travel time and increased the comfort for patients, as well as freed up ambulances and paramedics for local emergency calls.

From the start of the air ambulance service on May 13, 1996, to December 31, 2003, there were 3,682 LifeFlight missions1. Since then, the service has continued to grow and evolve, providing critical care transport for thousands of patients every year. As of 2020, EHS LifeFlight had completed over 15,000 missions.

Operations

EHS LifeFlight is a 24-hour, 365 day/year air medical transport service for critically ill or injured patients; adult services are based at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, in Halifax; Paediatric (1-18 yrs) and neonatal services are based at the IWK Health Centre. Many missions involve hospital to hospital transfer where the patient requires advanced medical treatment at another facility; typically at a major referral hospital/trauma centre such as the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre and the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, or the Saint John Regional Hospital in Saint John.

To date, there are 82 helicopter-approved landing zones in Nova Scotia that are Transport Canada certified with additional heliports located throughout Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Most of the time, in the case of a motor vehicle collision, the highway itself is used for landing and take-off. Numerous volunteer fire departments and Department of Natural Resources depots are also used in rural areas of Nova Scotia where rotor clearance permits.

From 1996–2017, the air ambulance service under STARS and later LifeFlight used one Sikorsky S-76-A helicopter owned and operated by Canadian Helicopters. This helicopter was used as the primary mode of air ambulance transport while a Beechcraft King Air 200 fixed wing aircraft functioned as a secondary mode of transport.

In 2016, Transport Canada changed its regulations concerning H1 helipads, resulting in the LifeFlight S-76A model being forced to land at helipads located on the ground and not on hospital rooftop helipads; the only rooftop helipads in the Maritimes being the IWK Health Centre, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre and Digby General Hospital. In January 2017 EHS signed a $105 million 15-year contract with Canadian Helicopters Limited for two Sikorsky S-76-C helicopters for use in LifeFlight service, following Transport Canada certification of this model for H1 helipad operations. The expansion of the fleet will also provide a backup helicopter for the first time in the service's history.

External links

• Official website