News
New board member says Ornge plagued by problems
April 25, 2012, Toronto - A member of Ornge's new board of directors says Ontario's troubled air ambulance service is still suffering from a lack of qualified pilots and acute care paramedics.
April 25, 2012 By The Canadian Press
Barry McLellan says Ornge is also still looking for a permanent fix for the interiors of its new helicopters, which couldn't accommodate paramedics performing CPR or other life-saving procedures.
Testifying before a legislative committee, McLellan says Ornge has found a temporary fix for the problem, but it will be "many months'' before a permanent solution is found.
He says he's also heard that some northern hospitals are reluctant to call Ornge because it didn't respond to their calls in the past.
Ornge is currently under a criminal probe for "financial irregularities'' and came under fire by Ontario's auditor general, who found there was vitually no oversight of the publicly funded organization.
The committee is expected to hear from former chairman Rainer Beltzer later in the day and the law firm that reportedly received millions of dollars from Ornge.
