Croatia launches new EU-backed HEMS project

The government-backed service was presented to the public for the first time in Rijeka on Tuesday. It will be co-financed with €10 million from the European Union cohesion funds.

According to a government press release, the new service is to improve quality, efficiency, and public emergency medical care for all Croatian residents and tourists regardless of their location. The service will extend to Croatia’s islands as well as rural areas inaccessible by road. It will operate from four bases: Osijek, Rijeka, Split, and Zagreb.

In a separate release, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County said that under the project, the government had guaranteed 10,500 hours of flights of helicopters for emergency medical services for the seven years up to 2030, provided by an international consortium.

In August, the Croatian government signed a contract with the consortium, comprising Italian company EliFriulia, Spain’s Eliance Helicopter Global Services, and Croatia’s Eli-Adriatik.

According to the Croatian Institute of Emergency Medicine, the services will be provided by Airbus H145s in the coastal regions and Airbus EC135s for the continental regions.

Eli Friulia will take care of the helicopters and servicing, as well as pilots while the Ministry of Health provides medical staff.