Trout River family say precious time lost in ATV accident

The family of a man who was critically injured in an ATV accident has some serious questions about the care he receivedand why he wasn't taken to ahospital equipped to deal with his injuries.

• ATV safety: 'Split-second decision' has devastating effects for Trout River family

Wedon't feel that the right call was made.- Jennifer Crocker

Jennifer Crocker's husband Jeremy sufferedsevere brain trauma after an ATV accident last monthand remainsin 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, thebleeding and swelling on Jeremy's brain has caused major damage and his prognosis for recovery is poor andhemay neverreturn home again.

We weren't takento 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.

Althoughshe wonders if thingswould 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 takento a hospital we felt would have provided him with services right away so we ended up with probably a fiveor sixhour delay ingettinghim to a proper place that could give him what we felt were better services."

Jennifer also raisedconcern 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, thedecision was made to transport Jeremy to the Bonne Bay Health Centre in Norris Point ratherthan the hospital in Corner Brook.

"Wedon'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 willnever know if a different decision could have made a difference in her husband's case, she saidmedicalservices in the Trout River area havebeen an ongoing fight and concerns have been raisedin the past.

...they areresponding to a call within ten minutes of receiving the request.- David Buckle, Regional director ofparamedicineand transport for Western Health

David Buckle is the regional director ofparamedicineand transport for Western Health.

He told CBC's Corner Brook Morning Show that many factors come into play during emergencies and rural areas havemeasures 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 timethey get notified of the event until they arrive and get their wheels rolling on the ambulance is 10 minuteswe measure and monitor that on a regular basis to ensure that they areresponding 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 togive an overview of a patient's condition.

"The physician and the paramedic would thendecide whether the patient is stableenoughtogo to thenearestfacilityor to a facility that is further away such as CornerBrook."

He also understands Jennifer Crocker's concern with the distance travelled and her fear that precious time was lost.

He comparedthe trip toNorris Point with the trip toCornerBrook and said the ambulance travelled roughly 45 kilometres less and arrived at the Norris Pointfacilityroughly 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 ifit's determinedthehigher level of care needed is inSt John's and not Corner Brook,a flight team is able to transport a patient directly from theregional health centre.