The exercise marks part of an initiative launched by the National Health Commission of China and the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) that aims to develop air medical capability for the Implementation Program for a Joint Pilot of AMS.

The exercise covered aviation safety practices and culture, functions and responsibilities for medical transport, flight planning and decision making, crew resource management and flight physiology. In addition, an introduction to the cross-functional co-ordination among emergency response, medical care, dispatch and aviation was provided to create a safe and effective air medical network solution for China.

“Together with SHC, we are excited to be leading the development of an AMS network in China,” said Jacinto Monge, Bell Managing Director for North Asia. "During the two-week event, expertise on best practices was shared through academic seminars and practical training using real-life simulations."

Bell also revealed that research from The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) and ASCEND, has shown that air medical services can significantly reduce the mortality rate of patients and improve the outcome of treatment. At present, Bell noted, there are more than 1,200 civilian air medical helicopters serving 320 million people in the US; while China currently has less than 100 civilian air medical helicopters serving 1.4 billion people. These exercises highlight China’s central government’s plans to build a modern healthcare system which will include an extensive air medical services network.