HEMS medical kit explained

In a new video, Daniel Oesch, a paramedic who flies for Swiss air rescue organisation Rega, demonstrates the medical equipment carried onboard one of the service’s rescue helicopters. The kit covered in the film includes a vacuum mattress, medical backpacks, intubation gear and a ventilator. Also demonstrated is an automatic chest compression device, which Oesch said facilitates cardiac massage in the limited space inside the aircraft.

Oesch explained: “Although there is not much room in the helicopter, we need to carry a lot of equipment onboard to cover every eventuality.” He added: “Whether in the event of poisoning, or if a patient has suffered an acute heart attack, someone has lost a leg in an accident with a machine and is bleeding profusely, a person has been run over by a car, or someone has been stung by a bee and cannot breathe – if we are called out promptly and can get to the accident site in good time, we can handle just about every situation.”