Anger is simmering about Manitoba’s suspended rural air ambulance service, and some of that heat seethed out into public view during Keystone Agricultural Producers’ annual convention.
“The helicopter’s on standby. The crews are sitting there ready to go. We’re just sitting, waiting for the government to give the OK,” said Chris McCallister, a Portage La Prairie farmer who has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the air ambulance.
“It’s frustrating. It makes me angry,” he said in an interview. “It’s an awesome cause, and it’s hard to see it sitting there doing nothing.”
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The STARS air ambulance was suspended after a November death of a patient combined with other incidents. Medical authorities are conducting a review.
Theresa Oswald, a former provincial health minister, told the KAP convention that the province wants to get STARS flying again.
“Certainly, when there were some concerns about some clinical protocols that led our medical professionals to advise a pause, that was not a decision that was made lightly.”
Oswald said the review is designed to ensure critical problems don’t recur.
Farmer Nevin Bachmeier of Steinbach, who challenged Oswald about STARS, said he felt the service is critical and should not be out of service.
“This is a lifeline for rural Manitoba and countless people have been saved by this program every year,” said Bachmeier, a rural fire department volunteer.
STARS operated more than 700 Manitoba flights before being shut down.
