Patient Power

Natasha Richardson and Canadian health care

From an AP story last week:

… questions are arising over whether a medical helicopter might have been able to save the ailing actress.

The province of Quebec lacks a medical helicopter system, common in the United States and other parts of Canada, to airlift stricken patients to major trauma centers. Montreal’s top head trauma doctor said Friday that may have played a role in Richardson’s death. …

“…Our system isn’t set up for traumas and doesn’t match what’s available in other Canadian cities, let alone in the States,” said Tarek Razek, director of trauma services for the McGill University Health Centre, which represents six of Montreal’s hospitals. …

Not being airlifted directly to a trauma center could have cost Richardson crucial moments, Razek said.

(Via David R. Henderson at EconLog.)

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