Ah, bureaucracy. The ol’ red tape. It’s all just annoying, until it puts someone’s health at risk…

CTV News reported last night that BC air ambulances – the helicopters that whisk critical patients from accident scenes or farflung places to the hospital – have been banned from landing at seven BC hospitals, including Vancouver General Hospital, Royal Columbian Hospital, Surrey Memorial Hospital, Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and BC Children’s Hospital. Instead, patients get taken to Pitt Meadows Airport or another airstrip and then are driven to those hospitals.

But it seems like it’s just a bureaucratic snafu. From the story:

The issues that led to the temporary ban concern helicopter performance requirements for H1 helipads. Transport Canada has deemed Helijet’s aircraft, the twin-engine Sikorsky S76 ambulance, in non-compliance.

But Helijet, which has been operating air ambulances in the province for 18 years, said it has a different interpretation of the rules.

“We’ve suspended service for now pending working with Transport, which we are doing, and it’s really an administrative issue more than anything else at the moment,” said Rick Hill, vice-president of commercial and business programs for the company. We believe that we are in compliance, and I guess that’s what we have to demonstrate.”

The company is meeting with Transport Canada officials in Ottawa later this week to work on a solution, Hill added.

So Helijet feels it is in compliance. Transport Canada says nope – and you can’t land. But don’t worry, they’ll all have a meeting in a few days (or when they get around to it) and hash something out.

In the meantime, try not to have a heart attack or accident too far from the hospital.