Did Lack Of Medical Helicopters Play Role In Richardson's Death?

Although actress Natasha Richardson initially refused treatment after receiving a head injury, some speculate that once help was summoned, the time that could have been saved by transporting her by air to a qualified trauma center could have made all the difference.

Richardson, 45, died March 18 at New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital, after falling and striking her head during a ski lesson at the Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec on Monday. The Associated Press reports nearly four hours passed between the time of the injury and Richardson's admission to a hospital.

Tarek Razek, director of trauma services for the McGill University Health Centre, said, "It's impossible for me to comment specifically about her case, but what I could say is ... driving to Mont Tremblant from the city (Montreal) is a 2 1/2-hour trip, and the closest trauma center is in the city. Our system isn't set up for traumas and doesn't match what's available in other Canadian cities, let alone in the States."

Richardson was initially taken to Centre Hospitalier Laurentien, which doesn't specialize in head trauma injuries, and then transferred to Sacre Coeur Hospital in Montreal, Razek said. The time that elapsed during transport to two different hospitals, rather than being medevaced directly to a qualified trauma center, could have cost moments that were crucial, Razek said.

"A helicopter is obviously the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B," Razek said. "There are so many variables, it's hard to speculate what might have been done differently."

Razek's lament over the lack of medevac helicopters in Quebec seems to be in sharp contrast to the scrutiny and bad press recently being heaped on US medevac operations, which has followed numerous accidents, lawsuits, and allegations of poorly run operations.

Medevac helicopters have come under scrutiny of late, due to a number of fatal accidents. As ANN reported, the National Transportation Safety Board held a four-day public hearing on the Safety of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) operations last month, part of the Board's ongoing efforts to evaluate the factors that contribute to EMS accidents.

FMI: www.muhc.ca, www.ntsb.gov, www.rotor.com