Pilot aeromedical service for Ireland

Irish Minister for Health Dr James Reilly and Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter announced on 21 May the launch of a 12-month pilot project that will see the country’s Air Corps helicopters provide dedicated aeromedical support to the Health Service Executive (HSE) National Ambulance Service (NAS).

The pilot Emergency Aeromedical Service, which will have a particular focus on the west of Ireland, will begin on 4 June from Custume Barracks, Athlone. The Air Corps will provide an EC135 helicopter along with personnel to fly and maintain the aircraft. The NAS will be responsible for patient care, which will be provided by its advanced paramedics.

The ministers said that the pilot service will allow the HSE to determine the extent and type of dedicated aeromedical support needed for the emergency ambulance service in the region in the longer term. Reilly commented: “The pilot will give us the information to see what type of service will best support the people and the [NAS] in the region and how we can, realistically, improve response and transit times for seriously ill people, thus improving outcomes.”

Shatter spoke of the Air Corps’ involvement: “While there is an existing agreement already in place providing for inter-hospital helicopter transfer, I believe that the Air Corps’ involvement in this pilot service will help for the HSE to determine the level of need that exists amongst sections of the population, primarily in the west of Ireland, who require rapid transfer to an appropriate facility within a limited timeframe.”

Image: library image of an Irish Air Corps EC135 / Ross Murphy