A new Health PEI policy means patients who need assistance getting into Island hospitals will get help from staff if they are anywhere on the hospital grounds.

The policy has been put in place after a couple from Howe Bay couldn't get help from staff at King's County Memorial Hospital in Montague.

In April, the couple arrived in the parking lot of the hospital, but the woman couldn't get her husband out of the vehicle. In the end, a nearby ambulance saw the couple and helped.

Officials with Health PEI said that was because each Island hospital and clinic had its own policy regarding patients not yet inside the building.

Now, the new policy states staff are obligated to provide immediate assistance to any patient, no matter where they are on the premises, including parking lots, entrances, lobbies, corridors and cafeterias.

Officials said it is about balancing the needs of patients with the health and safety of staff.

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Caption: Dr. Tom Dorran with Health PEI says the new policy balances patients' needs with the safety of hospital staff. (CBC)

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"The nuts and bolts essentially are to assess the situation, if it's safe to do so, if it's safe to approach, and at all times trying to manage patients and patients' needs, to the best of your ability, to the scope you've been trained to, to what's appropriate in that setting," said Dr. Tom Dorran, the medical director at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

"But if not seek help and refer them elsewhere, but if not possible, provide what care we can, until we can remove them from that setting, wherever they are, usually outside the buildings, in to a setting where we can provide the appropriate care."

Staff will receive training on the policy annually, and it's set to be reviewed again in three years.