Hearst physician testifies that delays in ORNGE air ambulance transfers may have cost lives during Ontario’s 2021 Constance Lake outbreak.
Drastic transfer delay raised alarm
At a coroner’s inquest examining the deaths of five individuals in the Constance Lake First Nation fungal-lung-disease outbreak (2021–22), anaesthesiologist Dr. Martin Papineau from Hearst District Hospital (Ontario) testified that he believed faster air-ambulance support from ORNGE could have saved patients’ lives.
Patient deterioration and the missed transfer window
On the afternoon of 18 November 2021, Dr. Papineau was called to intubate patient Luke Moore, who was suspected of having Blastomycosis and was in respiratory distress. Dr. Papineau expected ORNGE to transfer Moore overnight to the intensive-care unit in Sudbury, but the next morning Moore had already died — before ORNGE could land. He testified the air ambulance was delayed by weather, runway de-icing and other logistical problems.
Escalation of crisis in Constance Lake community
Two hours after Moore’s death, Dr. Papineau intubated another patient, Lorraine Shaganash, from Constance Lake, who was then transferred to Sudbury that evening and died the next day. Within the next 48 hours a third patient, Lizzie Sutherland, also awaiting air transport for more than a day, was deemed too unstable for flight and later died. Dr. Papineau said earlier or guaranteed transfer might have altered outcomes.
Emergency meeting triggered system change
After three deaths in three days, hospital leadership, regional health officials and ORNGE convened. According to Dr. Papineau’s testimony, ORNGE admitted it could not meet the provincial policy target of four-hour critical transfers. From that meeting onward, the policy was changed: any Constance Lake patient suspected of blastomycosis needing supplemental oxygen would be air-lifted before further deterioration. Transfers subsequently occurred smoothly.
Pre-existing frustrations surface
Dr. Papineau told the coroner’s jury that the transfer delay was not an isolated issue. He had for years flagged “friction” with ORNGE over patient movement out of Hearst — including mechanical, logistical and staffing obstacles. Despite raising concerns a decade earlier, he said he observed no meaningful improvement until the outbreak forced system change.
Current status and next steps
Dr. Papineau is no longer chief of staff nor working in the emergency department at the Hearst hospital and cannot personally confirm whether changes have held. He testified a meeting held in 2022 saw ORNGE promise better airport management support — but not additional northern-Ontario resources. The inquest continues with further questioning today.
