Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia health officials joined with staff and patients today at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Nova Scotia's Air Medical Transport Program.
During its first five years, the Medical Transport Program completed over 2,000 missions, of which more than 15 percent were from PEI.
Health and Social Services Minister Jamie Ballem advised that PEI has an excellent partnership with Nova Scotia which provides Islanders with critical medical care and air transportation to specialty services not available in the province. "As residents of a small province and an Island, Prince Edward Islanders value emergency services very highly. No one will attest to this more highly than the 48 Islanders who used this service last year, including 15 mothers about to give birth, 7 newborn babies, and 26 men, women and children who had suffered major illness or trauma," said Minister Ballem.
Nova Scotia Health Minister Jamie Muir advised that his department is pleased to be part of a partnership that provides air ambulance services for Prince Edward Island. "This is an excellent example of regional collaboration and we're happy that the Air Medical Transport Program not only provides a safety net for Nova Scotians when they are ill or injured, but for people living on Prince Edward Island as well."
The Nova Scotia Air Evacuation Services serves all of Prince Edward Island. About 70 percent of Island patients are transported from Charlottetown and 30 percent from Summerside.