Have passport? Can travel . . . for medical emergency
Wed May 14, 2008

By: By Jennifer Stone

BOWMANVILLE -- When Cindy MacDonald's dad was taken to Lakeridge Health Bowmanville with a brain aneurysm a little over a week ago, she didn't expect he'd need his passport to receive appropriate medical treatment.

But lack of availability of critical care beds in Ontario meant he had to be taken by air ambulance to Buffalo -- and for that he needed his passport.

"I have no issue with him going to the U.S." for treatment, Ms. McDonald said. "But what would happen if he didn't have a passport?"

The passport requirement is part of new rules governing entry by air to the U.S. But not having one wouldn't stand in the way in a life and death situation, said a Health ministry spokesman.

"Basically, in a situation like this, that would have been considered a non-emergency transfer," ministry spokesman Mark Nesbitt said. In that case, a passport is a requirement. But, "in an emergency or critical situation, there are arrangements in place where border security will allow people to be transferred without delay.

"There is no requirement for a passport in a life or death situation."

Still, Ms. MacDonald wonders whether the delay, first to try to find a bed in the GTA, then elsewhere in the province, then for someone to go get the passport from her father's home, could potentially have caused health risk.

It was 1 a.m. when the family was told Ms. MacDonald's 60-year-old father needed to be transferred elsewhere to a critical care unit. He didn't leave Lakeridge Bowmanville until 6 a.m.

"Everything I'm reading says the quicker you get medical attention (in the case of an aneurysm) the better off you are," said Ms. MacDonald.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Ms. MacDonald's father remained in hospital in Buffalo in stable condition. Fluid is being drained from his head and doctors are trying to determine if a shunt will be required.

Critical care bed availability is something the Province is working on, Mr. Nesbitt said.

"Critical care is a remarkably expensive resource for hospitals," he said, noting it could account for up to 30 per cent of a hospital's total budget. "Because it's a specialized and limited resource, there are short-term spikes in demand. That's when a transfer like this is called into play."

In 2006, the government put a critical care strategy in place, with $90 million in additional annual funding. The strategy also includes restructuring such speciality services to find efficiencies.

Government officials "know there's an issue, and they're working on the issue," Mr. Nesbitt said. "But it's hard to maintain that amount of resource for what is an occasional jump" in demand.