No changes to STARS due to Manitoba, Sask. officials say

Health officials in Saskatchewan say problems with Manitoba's STARS air ambulance service do not apply here.
    
Manitoba has suspended its STARS service and is reviewing its practices after three critical incidents.

They all involved patients who may have been deprived of oxygen while they were in the air, with the latest incident happening just last week.

Doug Line, director of acute and emergency services with Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health, says STARS in this province works independently.
    
"Essentially we have our own nurses, paramedics, physicians and so while we worked together under the communications and the STARS operational model ... we do business in Saskatchewan maybe different than they do in Alberta or Manitoba," he said.

Saskatchewan has had no critical incidents involving STARS since it launched last year, STARS medical director Terry Ross said.

"Every single call that we do, I personally review," he said. "I take out the chart, I audit it. I look at management. I take a look at care, and then make any recommendation on any care changes that we'd potentially need to do."

Health Minister Dustin Duncan also said the suspension of services in Manitoba will not impact STARS here.

"We will be looking closely to see if there are things we can learn from the Manitoba experience, but there would be nothing today to signal that we would need to change how STARS is operating in the province," he said.