Help from the skies

 

THE survival rates for people suffering from major trauma and life-threatening illness has dramatically increased, thanks to the new emergency air ambulance service for the West of Ireland.

That’s according to Health Service Executive (HSE) advanced paramedic Pat Moran, who confirmed a number of Clare patients, who had life-threatening conditions, are still alive today thanks to the new service.

The Emergency Aeromedical Service, which got off the ground last June, has responded to a wide range of emergencies, including serious strokes, heart attacks and road traffic collisions in West, South and North Clare.

The €14 million air ambulance, an EC135 helicopter based at Custume Barracks in Athlone, is operated by the Air Corps at an estimated cost of between €2,500 and €3,000 an hour, while National Ambulance Service (NAS) advanced paramedics are responsible for patient care.

It stopped off at the Fairgreen in Ennis on Thursday last, where members of the Air Corps team met Clare advanced paramedics and paramedics based at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Ennis.

Mr Moran said the new service is operating very well and has made a huge impact for patients who have used it.

The current service is a secondary Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS), which means a healthcare professional such as a GP, advanced paramedic or paramedic are the only authorised personnel who can request the helicopter. This ensures the service is used appropriately by patients who need it most and a decision to relax this restriction will be considered after 12 months in operation.

The one-year pilot scheme ensures the helicopter responds to emergencies during daylight hours and it is expected there will be an analysis of its first nine months of operation to illustrate the value and benefits of the service.

The state-of-the-art helicopter currently operates between 8am and 6pm daily but these times will change during the winter when the number of daylight hours reduces. A typical crew consists of a pilot, co-pilot, emergency medical technician-trained crew member and a HSE advanced paramedic.

All requests for call-outs are directly through the National Aeromedical Centre in Tullamore, which activates or tasks the crew, who have to be in the air within 10 minutes and very often it can be as quick as five minutes.

Average journey times to locations such as Kilkee in West Clare or Parteen in South-East Clare can take between 35 and 40 minutes and patients are then transferred to the appropriate hospital in Galway, Cork or Dublin.

It can travel for four hours on full fuel at about 320kph and can operate in poor weather conditions such as high winds and poor visibility.
Depending on the success of the pilot programme, a decision will be taken about the possible use of night-vision goggles, which would extend operational hours.