Charlottetown Airport Authority and QEH deem joint mock disaster exercise successful

The Charlottetown Airport Authority and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, along with other partners, are calling the staged multi-casualty mock disaster exercise held yesterday evening a success.

“Last night’s exercise allowed the Charlottetown Airport Authority to test our emergency response procedures in a safe and controlled environment,” said Doug Newson, Charlottetown Airport Authority CEO. “Training of our personnel is integral to our emergency preparedness program and we believe that this exercise was a great learning experience for our team as well as the several partners involved.”

In accordance with Canadian Aviation Regulations, the airport must test their emergency systems every four years. In this case, where a scenario of a simulated plane crash was developed, the simulated crash involved a WestJet 737 aircraft with 43 passengers and a crew of five. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital made it a joint exercise by also testing its emergency and disaster response protocols, as plane crash casualties were transported to the hospital’s emergency department by Island EMS for treatment as would happen in a real-life situation.

“We are very pleased with how our staff responded quickly once the exercise began,” said Rick Adams, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Executive Director. “As we went through our emergency response protocols during the mock disaster, we identified certain improvements that could be made to our existing plan. These types of exercises are very important in terms of helping us to fine-tune our protocols to ensure that we are better prepared in the event of a real disaster.”

In addition to the Charlottetown Airport Authority and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, other partners involved in this exercise included Charlottetown Police Services, WestJet Airlines, Island EMS, Medacom Atlantic, Charlottetown Fire Department, Atlantic Police Academy, PEI Ground Search and Rescue, PEI Office of Public Safety, Public Safety Canada, NAV Canada, and the Coroner’s Office.

“In short, we want to extend a sincere ‘thank you’ to everyone who participated,” added Newson and Adams. “It was a very valuable exercise for both of our organizations and others involved.”

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital also wishes to thank patients and the public for their patience and understanding for any inconvenience experienced during the disaster exercise.

Media Contact: Amanda Hamel