The New Brunswick government's controversial decision to reduce air ambulance service to Grand Manan island has come under fire after an elderly woman died waiting to go to hospital.
86-year-old Marjorie Stanley suffered a heart attack Saturday and died after waiting four hours to be transferred to Saint John Regional Hospital. She had a second heart attack just before the transport arrived.
Since the government moved to streamline operations and opted in June not to renew its contract with an island-based Atlantic Air Charters - the contract expired July 1 - critically-ill or injured patients must now wait for an Ambulance New Brunswick plane to come in from Moncton. (From Global News)
It is many times impossible for an aircraft to land on Grand Manan due to heavy fog. Using the aircraft that is already on the island ensures that the patient can be transported immediately.
Health Minister Madeline Dube needs to understand that this decision is playing Russian roulette with the lives of the people of Grand Manan.