Unnecessary Medevacs? Post here

[CLguy]

Where to begin....... well got called on a Friday late afternoon one winter day to do a medivac from a reserve because one of the native police officers had hit himself with an axe chopping wood. Flew in on skiis, picked up him and his wife, landed back at base after dark on the ski strip. Officer seemed fine although he was complaining of a headache. I saw him in the Border Bar later that evening and by the condition he was in, no doubt would have had a severe headache the next morning!! One of many!!

[LifeJet]

MEDEVACs put money in the bank and hours in the book. Period.

Necessary, unnecessary, frivolous, or serious, if they tell me to go, and it's safe, I go.

Not my place to second guess the medical pros.

Look forward not backward boys and girls.

[Four1oh]

How about the classic 'Tylenol Shopping Trip'? I capitalize it since it's really a way of life. Pop a 1/2 a bottle of Tylenol(which doesn't do anything, btw), claim you had 4 bottles(4 might damage the liver a little bit), in comes the medevac, endure the charcoal treatment on the way to YWG, and presto! Free shopping trip in YWG!

[Hot Fuel]

This is thread that will go nowhere fast, if we can learn anything from the past this would surely be a good example. Although I have seen things that make me go hmmmm I also recognize that I am not qualified to pass judgment on other peoples medical needs.

This thread is designed too and will undoubtedly lead to nothing more than racial slurs and the perpetuating of a stereotype, is that the best you can come up with to generate some controversy on this site?

[LifeJet]

How about the classic 'Tylenol Shopping Trip'? I capitalize it since it's really a way of life. Pop a 1/2 a bottle of Tylenol(which doesn't do anything, btw), claim you had 4 bottles(4 might damage the liver a little bit), in comes the medevac, endure the charcoal treatment on the way to YWG, and presto! Free shopping trip in YWG!

It's federal stimulus for the Winnipeg economy!

[55+]

I did it for 12 yrs in the Maritimes and in my experience 5% definitely had a big stink(aka CYAY), probably another 10% you did wonder but then again I wasn’t a medical professional consequently my “diagnosis” didn’t have any weight.
If you were carrying a neo-natal, cardio or trauma team, well you knew and treated it as such. In my heyday, the first few nice days of spring ya got the bike accidents, the young buckos all liquored up. Ditto first snowfall late fall with the ski-do’s., probably their buddies.
But whatever, I did the job and can honestly say I (we) saved many a life, new born, young/old and whatever the circumstance that what’s counts – bar none!
There were issues of race/color during my time but I rose above that – wasn’t my style.

[Four1oh]

This is thread that will go nowhere fast, if we can learn anything from the past this would surely be a good example. Although I have seen things that make me go hmmmm I also recognize that I am not qualified to pass judgment on other peoples medical needs.

This thread is designed too and will undoubtedly lead to nothing more than racial slurs and the perpetuating of a stereotype, is that the best you can come up with to generate some controversy on this site?

Dude, I could say that about any thread. Why bother posting if we're all so worried about the low percentage of morons out there?

[Sulako]

I flew medevacs for a year and a half in northern Saskatchewan, and then again in northern Ontario.

If it was safe to do the trip, we did the trip. I trained as a pilot, not a doctor or nurse, so it would be pretty high-horsey of me to presume I knew any better than they did about the patient's condition, or about the best course of action.

There are lots of medevacs that could be called into question - does it make sense to take a dying person back home if they are unconscious and are going to die anyway? Does it make sense to take a smoker for cancer treatment? Does it make sense to take an elderly man down for prostate cancer treatment when it's likely he will die of natural causes before the slow-growing cancer gets him? Those are all calls that are left up to the professionals, not me.

Besides, I sure as hell wouldn't want a bad call on my conscience. Imagine refusing to take a person for treatment because you have decided they don't 'really' need it, and then they die. My biggest fear in this life is hurting or killing a passenger, and that would fall under that category for me.

Who would I be to say "You sir, are able to walk, so this flight isn't necessary". All I see is how they look as they are boarding the aircraft - I don't see any medical history, nor do I see the big picture - the person might have several medical conditions that interact in such a way as they appear to be okay, but in fact aren't.

I have been on flights where healthy-looking people have blown heart valves in mid-flight, so I wouldn't put a whole lot of weight behind my 20-second assessment of their condition before I go sit up front and drive the plane.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Why does this subject always degenerate into accusations of racism?

Anyone who does not recognize the institutionalized submission of a race of people by confining them in pseudo prisons needs to be sent to xxx reservation to serve a life sentence.

After a while you too can call for a medivac to allow you a day parole.

[3=47]

It should be mandatory for all Canadians to spend some time on a reserve/northern community only then will they realize there are two Canada’s one Doveloped with roads, housing, jobs, etc, and the other side that looks more like a cold version of Africa.

[Old fella]

Yup, and we are spending untold millions to get young girls in school in that crazy place(Afgahn - an amenable cause in some respects.) and yet we have young girls subject to conditions just as brutal(in some ways) here at home, like those residental schools years past.

Canadian moral superiority - yeah like @#$!!!!

[LegoMan]

In my short time flying medevacs, I did a few tylenol taxi trips and most were not that urgent, However, it put the hours in my logbook so I dont really care.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

In my short time flying medevacs, I did a few tylenol taxi trips and most were not that urgent, However, it put the hours in my logbook so I dont really care.

So you are content to have taxpayers money squandered as long as it puts hours in your log book?

[Flybabe]

Well, glad I'm not the only one that checked my licence to see if I had "Flybabe, M.D." stamped on there. LOL.

It's not up to me to question who's in the back and why. I had a LOT of walk ons - sure I questioned a few but I made my living on medevacs. I know things are a bit more abused in the rst of Canada, but Yukon really wasn't bad at all.

[Captain X]

MEDEVACs put money in the bank and hours in the book. Period.

Necessary, unnecessary, frivolous, or serious, if they tell me to go, and it's safe, I go.

Not my place to second guess the medical pros.

Look forward not backward boys and girls.

Touche!

[parrot_head]

Who ever said that Medevacs where only for people who were on their death bed? In some cases, it comes down to the level of care available. If someone needs routine surgery and the nearest place is 1/2 day drive away, why can't they make use of an aircraft? I flew Medevacs for 10 years and I know for a fact that the 60 minutes of flight time required to transfer a patient to the city and back was cheaper than the ground transfer that would take upwards of 8-10 hours. My point is that any patient has the right to get the highest level of care available regardless of their perceived status, an aircraft is just one of the tools available to transfer them.

['effin hippie]

MEDEVACs put money in the bank and hours in the book. Period.

Necessary, unnecessary, frivolous, or serious, if they tell me to go, and it's safe, I go.

Not my place to second guess the medical pros.

Look forward not backward boys and girls.

Amen Again.

In YEV if I recall, all medevac discharges were put on the next sched home. If you AWOL'd from the hospital or missed the reservation home, you were on your own dime to get back to your community. I remember hearing this did cut down on the bullshit, and perhaps more importantly, on the perception of bullshit.

ef

[Johnny#5]

In my short time flying medevacs, I did a few tylenol taxi trips and most were not that urgent, However, it put the hours in my logbook so I dont really care.

So you are content to have taxpayers money squandered as long as it puts hours in your log book?

Whatever...this has been going on for years. I'm sure in your earlier days you logged many hours flying "iffy" medevacs...did you complain to your local politician or were you just happy to be logging time and collecting somewhat of a paycheck?

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Whatever...this has been going on for years. I'm sure in your earlier days you logged many hours flying "iffy" medevacs

True I did because you have no real idea whether it is an emergency or if it is not when you are given the trip.

...did you complain to your local politician

No, should I have? Would complaining to a politician be productive?

or were you just happy to be logging time and collecting somewhat of a paycheck?

When I was flying medivacs I was flying DC3's and PBY's for Austin Airways and logging time really was not an issue by that stage of my flying career, the pay was so so but better than driving a Beaver or an Otter.

I truly can not remember having to log time to get another job, somehow they just seemed to be there when I wanted one.

Also I have never ever been asked to produce a log book to get a job.

[fanspeed]

Let's hear about the unnecessary medevac flights you've done, either a long time ago, or yesterday.

Something stinks about this part of the industry...

Let's hear about the unnecessary reroutes, altitude changes, and speed restrictions you have endured, either a long time ago, or yesterday.

[Johnny#5]

I see what your saying Cat, its just that I was content to have taxpayers money squandered as long as it put hours in my log book cause that got me out of an atco trailer and more money to pay off student loans

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Hey, I'm happy for you at least someone got some benefit that worked for it.

[Expat]

Yup, and we are spending untold millions to get young girls in school in that crazy place(Afgahn - an amenable cause in some respects.) and yet we have young girls subject to conditions just as brutal(in some ways) here at home, like those residental schools years past.

Canadian moral superiority - yeah like @#$!!!!

Good try, but our millions put no one in schools here. Yes we built some schools, but they are empty or used by sheep and donkeys. Our millions are used to support an unpopular government, of an unpopular state, conduct an unpopular war, in order to keep some jobs at home.

[KAG]

If the public knew what really went on up north and just how badly their tax dollars were wasted, I think you'd see this as front page news, protests in YOW and people demanding serious change.
The total BS medivacs that I've personally done that accomplished nothing more then fill my log book and take someone on a drug induced personal flight, would easily be the in hundreds of thousands of wasted tax payer dollars. I once had medcom tell us the patient missed her Bearskin flight (she had an appointment) so they called us. That was Northern ONT. I could rant with many other stories but I'd sound like an ass...
Working in the NWT was a whole different ballgame - The calls tended to be legit.

[Clearwater]

.