DOHA: The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is planning to add more helicopters to its air ambulance service next year, in collaboration with the Qatar Emiri Air Force, a senior HMC official has said. Dr Robert Owen, Chief Executive Officer of HMC’s Ambulance Service said HMC’s LifeFlight air ambulance service currently receives and responds to an average of 80 to 85 calls each month (an increase of 25-30 percent) or about three calls a day. The vast majority of cases are trauma emergencies: road traffic accidents and industrial accidents.
Speaking at the fight anniversary celebrations of the service recently, he said since the service began in 2007, it had grown from being a daylight hours (sunrise to sunset) service to an 18-hour service as of October 2011, enabling the crew to respond to emergencies from 6am until midnight. “Further expansion of the LifeFlight service is planned. 2013 will see us partnering with the Qatar Emiri Air Force and the introduction of new helicopters,” said Owen.
Besides trauma emergencies, LifeFlight is also dispatched for medical cases such as patients who have had a heart attack, or become unconscious or very ill. There has been an increased need for the service at the Sealine area during the camping season.
The decision on whether a patient needs to be transported by LifeFlight is based on various factors that include, among other things, the condition of the patient and distance to the hospital. Wayne Thomson, who manages the Aeromedical Service congratulated his team on five years of operating the service. The LifeFlight helicopter is fitted out with advanced life support medical equipment and is in constant contact with the National Command Center. It carries three crew members – the pilot, a critical care paramedic and an ambulance paramedic, and can transport and care for one patient in a critical or serious condition.
“Once notified of a case by the National Command Center, LifeFlight is airborne within four-and-a-half minutes. We generally fly in a straight line and flight time depends on the distance from Hamad General Hospital, which is the helicopter base,” Thomson explained. “During the day, we can land almost anywhere provided it is safe to do so. At night, we currently only land at 16 designated helicopter operating sites located at strategic positions around the country. The number of sites will however continue to expand,” he added.The Peninsula
