What stops the Yukon government from sending a helicopter when conditions don’t allow the regular medevac plane to land, instead sending a much-slower ambulance?

“When planning an emergency response, time is critical,” NDP Leader Kate White said Tuesday.

“The sooner a patient can get to the hospital, the more likely they can be saved.

“So, will the Health minister commit to reviewing the Yukon EMS policy on helicopter use for medevac services?”

Health Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee questioned whether financial constraints were the reason, as asserted by White.

“This government supports Emergency Medical Services staff and community responders completely in their work to providing Yukoners with timely and high-quality health care services across the territory,” she said.

She noted that the 2024-25 budget has $13 million set aside for EMS, with 80.8 FTEs and 102 community responders providing EMS.

“We have supported our EMS individuals through additional funding and additional increases, more than doubled their on-call per diem,” McPhee said.

White noted there is just one helicopter equipped to handle paramedics working on a patient in the air, but that government policy has dispatchers call through a list of helicopter companies when there is an emergency “in order to be fair,” rather than use the appropriate helicopter.

“One operator we spoke with said this scenario is like using a station wagon instead of an ambulance,” White said of the use of non-medevac-equipped helicopters.

As well, White wanted to know what happened to the plans to have a helipad at the Whitehorse General Hospital.

McPhee did not answer White’s questions directly, instead noting that the planned new Yukon Health Authority “will put the interest of every single patient at the centre of every single decision.”