New N.W.T. medevac contract promises newer planes, faster responses

The new eight-yearmedevaccontract recently awarded to two companies by the Northwest Territories government will pay almost double the amount paid bythe currentcontract, which was held by the samecompanies.

The new contract will also allow Air Tindiand its supplier of on-board medics, Advanced Medical Solutions,to make some important upgrades to their medevac service, according to the airline.

"There's a lot of things that are probably happening in the background that the patient might not see," says Alasdair Martin, the president of Yellowknife-based Air Tindi.

"But the overall package allows us to give a much more flexible and improved service in general."

The current six-year contractsfor each company, which expire on March31, are payingthe companies a combined $12 million per year.When the new contract covering both companiestakes effect on Apr. 1, it will pay the companies a combined $17.5 million a year.

Martin saysthe extramoney will help pay for a number of changes, including Air Tindi's acquisition of four newer King Airs, which are used for the majority of medevacflights in the territory.Those planes will either be new or eight to 10 years old, compared to the 23-year-old King Airs currently used by the company.

New response time guarantee

In 2013, the territorial government investigated an incidentin which it took an AirTindiTwin Otter five hours to respond to a medicalemergency in Trout Lake.

The new contract calls for afaster maximum responsetime for flights to communitiesthat can only accommodate Twin Otters or helicopters: to two hours from four hours.

"Beyond that, there's an increase in staff, particularly on the medical side, to make sure we always have fresh medics available for every call put out," says Martin.

Martin saysAir Tindi will refurbish one hangar at its base in Inuvik and one hangar at its base in Yellowknife to serve as dedicated medevac hangars. The change will mean patients won't be loaded onto planes on the tarmac.

"[The transfer] would be inside. The aircraft would be warm," says Martin.

Other upgrades called for in the new contract include:

• at least one King Air equipped with adoor wide enoughto accommodateobese patients
• planes with two stretchers, instead of just one, which would allow pilots to pick up more than one patient during a single trip

The territorial government won't disclose what rival bids three other companies506710 NWT Ltd.,Keewatin Air and Summit Air submitted for the same contract, saying such proposals are confidential.