Kagawa and Okayama to offer mutual HEMS support

The agreement was finalized at a meeting between Governor Toyohito Ikeda of Kagawa Prefecture and Governor Ryūta Ibaragi of Okayama Prefecture, in Okayama City on 24 March.

Under the terms of the agreement, air ambulances from each prefecture will be able to operate within the territory of the other prefecture – allowing for the neighbouring regions to offer mutual helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) support in the event of major accidents or disaster.

Previously, the regional air ambulances, known as ‘Doctor-Helis’, would be limited to operating within their own prefectures.

The two prefectures sit across the water from each other, divided by a channel of water known as the Seto Inland Sea. The sea is a major thoroughfare for ships, and both prefectures boast coastlines with a number of populated islands, including Megijima, Naoshima, Shodo and Teshima.

Further north, residents of three neighbouring prefectures in the Tohoku region of Honshu – Akita, Iwate and Aomori – have also been campaigning for the creation of a similar agreement, to allow HEMS operators to operate across borders.