Issue 33 - January/February 2012

The entire board of the Ornge air ambulance service of Ontario, Canada, has been dismissed as the service faces controversy over its transparency and accountability. Local media sources including the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star have reported a range of allegations over issues including executive pay at the not-for-profit fixed-wing and helicopter air ambulance provider and linked for-profit companies.

Susan Sullivan, health minister for Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, has rejected calls from the Association of Allied Health Professionals (AAHP) for the province’s medical helicopters to be replaced by a larger, more capable model. Concerns had been raised by the AAHP over the size and capability of the Bell 206 helicopters used by the provincial government’s air ambulance programme.

Christine Hines, daughter of Mayo Clinic organ procurement technician David Hines, has filed a lawsuit at Clay County Court, Florida, US, claiming that the organ transplant flight that led to her father’s death should never have taken place. The wrongful death lawsuit alleges that due to poor visibility and weather conditions, the helicopter should not have taken off, saying that pilot Hoke Smith and his company, SK Jets of St Augustine, were negligent in attempting the flight.

News media around the world have relayed the images of a Vigili del Fuoco helicopter hoisting an injured crewman from the MS Costa Concordia, after it ran aground, sparking an evacuation and ongoing controversy.

The UK's Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance (WNAA) and sister service Derbyshire Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) have announced their takeover of The Children’s Air Ambulance (TCAA) to provide a national bespoke helicopter transfer service for seriously ill children that need to be moved safely and quickly between hospitals for specialist care.