Trout River family say precious time lost in ATV accident
'We don't feel that the right call was made,' says wife of injured man
The family of a man who was critically injured in an ATV accident has some serious questions about the care he received and why he wasn't taken to a hospital equipped to deal with his injuries.
We don't feel that the right call was made.- Jennifer Crocker
Jennifer Crocker's husband Jeremy suffered severe brain trauma after an ATV accident last month and remains in a medically induced coma and on life support at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's.
Better service needed
While doctors are doing all they can, the bleeding and swelling on Jeremy's brain has caused major damage and his prognosis for recovery is poor and he may never return home again.
We weren't taken to a hospital we felt would have provided him with services right away.- Jennifer Crocker
Jennifer is dealing with the tragedy the best she can and making sure their two children are cared for.
Although she wonders if things would be different if it hadn't taken so long for help to arrive.
"We had a huge delay in the ambulance getting to us," Jennifer told CBC.
"We weren't taken to a hospital we felt would have provided him with services right away so we ended up with probably a five or six hour delay in getting him to a proper place that could give him what we felt were better services."
Jennifer also raised concern about the decision-making process, saying that the paramedic wasn't able to get an answer regarding the best location to transport her husband.
Finally, the decision was made to transport Jeremy to the Bonne Bay Health Centre in Norris Point rather than the hospital in Corner Brook.
"We don't feel that the right call was made," said Jennifer.
"They made the call to go to Norris Point, which is not a full-service hospital, instead of Corner Brook where he could have received immediate care considering the severity of his injuries."
Service standards
Although Jennifer will never know if a different decision could have made a difference in her husband's case, she said medical services in the Trout River area have been an ongoing fight and concerns have been raised in the past.
... they are responding to a call within ten minutes of receiving the request.- David Buckle, Regional director of paramedicine and transport for Western Health
David Buckle is the regional director of paramedicine and transport for Western Health.
He told CBC's Corner Brook Morning Show that many factors come into play during emergencies and rural areas have measures in place to deal with them the best way possible.
He said that ambulance services in the Woody Point-Trout River region are under a contract with Western Health and operate on a 24-7 basis.
"The standard is from the time they get notified of the event until they arrive and get their wheels rolling on the ambulance is 10 minutes — we measure and monitor that on a regular basis to ensure that they are responding to a call within 10 minutes of receiving the request," said Buckle.
He added that paramedics have a protocol to follow which involves contacting a physician to give an overview of a patient's condition.
"The physician and the paramedic would then decide whether the patient is stable enough to go to the nearest facility … or to a facility that is further away such as Corner Brook."
He also understands Jennifer Crocker's concern with the distance travelled and her fear that precious time was lost.
He compared the trip to Norris Point with the trip to Corner Brook and said the ambulance travelled roughly 45 kilometres less and arrived at the Norris Point facility roughly 25 minutes quicker and making a decision to travel further can sometimes mean a patient doesn't survive.
On a final note, Buckle said that if it's determined the higher level of care needed is in St John's and not Corner Brook, a flight team is able to transport a patient directly from the regional health centre.
With files from Cherie Wheeler and Glenn Payette