NEW!! Ill woman evacuated

AN ARMED Forces aircraft flew a team of specialized B.C. Ambulance Service paramedics to the Queen Charlotte Islands this morning to medevac a critically ill woman.

The aircraft, a CC-115 Buffalo crewed by members of 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron in Comox, flew to Sandspit on the northeastern tip of Moresby Island.

The patient, located in the Village of Queen Charlotte on Graham Island, was reached by ferry and stabilized before being brought to Sandspit, reports Capt. SueEllen MacGowan from Comox.

“She was flown to Richmond where the ALS [advanced life support] paramedics and search and rescue technicians took her to the Richmond General Hospital,” said MacGowan.

“There was a bed and hospital team waiting for the patient when we arrived,” said Master Corporal Billy Ternes, an air force search and rescue technician who was on the mission. “She was able to receive continuous care thanks to the team effort between the different health care groups.”

The current condition of the patient is not known.

The Comox air force crews and provincial paramedics are becoming more familiar with operating together.

“As we work more with civilian agencies such as advanced life support we become more cohesive,” said Ternes. “We share gear, using what is most appropriate for the task and use a level of cooperation that is instrumental in these types of missions.”

(Posted June 28, 2008 at 1 p.m.)