Labrador father laments lack of medevac service for critically ill infants

A Labrador father whose newborn daughter waited more than a day for a medevac to St. John's says the service needs to be faster to transport critically ill babies.

Robert Way's daughter Reya, who died at the age of five months, suffered from Zellwegerspectrum disorder, a rare genetic condition affecting newborn babies.

Shortly after she was born in April, doctors in Happy Valley-Goose Bay recommended Reya be transported to St. John's via medevac.

"They told us that because of her condition, our daughter was the most urgent case in the province and that they would come get her as soon as they could," Way said of the April evening.

"And then time kept going on."

'A pretty rough night'

Way said it was 3 p.m. on a Friday when hospital staff in Goose Bay first called for a medevac to St. John's.

"We kept asking for updates and they kept saying, 'As soon as the weather clears,'" Way said.

After waiting five hours, during which time multiple commercial flights had come and gone through Goose Bay, Way was informed Eastern Health doesn't provide a 24-hour medevac service, and that the baby would have to wait until 7 a.m. Saturday.

"It was pretty rough to know that help wasn't coming," Way said. "Once we found that out, then in the morning when they didn't show up again, it was pretty upsetting."

It was nearly Sunday before Reya finally arrived in the neonatal intensive-care unit in St. John's a full 30 hours after the initial medevac call was made.

"They said they were going to come and then they didn't, and they kind of left her to fend for herself overnight," Way said. "And she was having a pretty rough night."

A cost-cutting measure

When he arrived at the JanewayChildren's Health and Rehabilitation Centre, Way said he was told a newly implemented Eastern Health policy limitsmedevac services between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

"Basically they didn't want to have to pay for a second transport team to always be on call," he said. "So it was one of those cost-cutting things."

Way said he found it "hard to accept" that someone would make such a decision.

"You are deciding that at some point somebody is going to go through immense trauma and immense pain because of that decision," he said.

Way expressed gratitude for staff at the Janeway and the Labrador Health Centre, who he said went "above and beyond" to help his daughter, and said the ordeal was "not a reflection of people who provide the care."

"They kept her with us in spite of a system that was doing its best to not keep her with us," he said.

In an email, Eastern Health said staffing shortages are behind theneonatal medevac cutbacks.

"Over the past six months, the Neonatal Medical Transport Team has been challenged, at times, to provide 24-hour coverage, due to the limited number of specially trained staff," the statement said.

Each neonatal flight needs one registered nurse and one respiratory therapist aboard, and Eastern Health said it is trying to recruit and train more in order to restore round-the-clock coverage"as soon as possible."

The health authority would not comment on specific patients, citing privacy concerns. In the statement, it said it is also looking to streamline the medevac process, and that Janewayneonatalspecialists are available 24/7 for virtual support.

More accountability needed, father says

Way's is not the first story to highlight the plight of Labrador residents who need emergency care on the island.

In April, Howard Russell spent 30 hours on an exam table in Port Hope Simpson while waiting to be airlifted to St. John's.

And in August 2020, a Labrador City man had to wait 24 hours for a medevac after suffering a heart attack.

Way said his experience underscores the need for 24-hour medevac service for critically ill babies.

"I mean, these are the most vulnerable people in our society," he said. "They were accepting that it was a possibility that she died that night.

"It was clear this is going to happen to someone and it happened to us...And I think there has to be a fair bit of accountability for it."

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