Quote:
Originally Posted by djmk
If you require a helicopter to go to the hospital, you will either go the the closest hospital or the hospital with the specialized equipment/doctors you need.
VGH is just seconds away from this site and already has all the equipment you may need.
If you are a bit further out, you will be going to Abbotsford or Surrey Memorial
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Not necessarily. VGH and St Paul's aren't identical - some services are unique to one of the hospitals. For example, St Paul's carries out kidney transplants; VGH doesn't. Organ donations are very time sensitive, and right now have to arrive by road at St Paul's. If they've come from a donor elsewhere, they can be brought by air to Waterfront, and then have to be transferred to the hospital by road.
In a major incident generating multiple casualties, VGH could find their ICU full, but St Paul's might still have capacity. Bringing the injured directly to the hospital makes much more sense than adding in a road transfer as well.
Royal Columbian in New Westminster also has a helipad.