Hastings-Quinte Chief of Paramedic Services Doug Socha (File photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News)
A new agreement means that Quinte area patients suffering major injuries can be transported by ambulance straight to the regional trauma centre, by-passing local hospitals.
Chief of Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Services, Doug Socha, told the emergency services committee Wednesday that under ministry of health bypass guidelines the patient would be taken to a local hospital before transfer to a trauma centre unless the centre was within 30-minutes drive.
Under a new agreement that is now extended to 60 minutes.
Socha says paramedics have already used this procedure involving a traumatic call south of Picton in which they were able to bypass the local hospital and drive the ambulance directly to the Kingston Regional Trauma Centre.
