Air Corps

Brief History of Irish Air Corps Air Ambulance and Emergency Services

To Date :

  • Over 2,800 air ambu lance missions have been conducted by Air Corps Alouette helicopters.
  • Over 750 air ambulance missions conducted by Air Corps Dauphin helicopters.
  • Over 240 air ambulance and organ harvest missions conducted by Air Corps fixed wing aircraft.
TOTAL; Over 3,790 To Date (Mid. 2003)

Advantages of Helicopter Air Ambulance and
Pre-Hospital

  • Rapid transmission from scene to critical care facility.
  • Accessibility to remote sites.
  • Smooth travel over long distance beneficial to patient, especially in spinal cases.
  • Ability to travel rapidly and smoothly over water high y advantageous in island medevac missions.
  • Ability to divert rapidly to nearest hospital if patient condition deteriorates en route.
  • Snow or ice on roads does not effect a helicopter!

The Future?

  • Irish Air Corps is a service provider.
  • Future HEMS and emergency response must be customer driven i.e Dept of Health.
  • Irish Air Corps and DoD currently procuring new utility helicopters with potential of providing service as is currently available.
  • Expanding to HEMS is possible if sufficient numbers of helicopters are procured and if customer driven.
 

Why a joint HEMS service?

  • Air Corps has 40 years experience of helicopter air ambulance operations in Ireland/U.K. day and night.
  • Operating protocols for this type of service already in place in the form of long established operating procedures.
  • Operating procedures and protocol as established between Air Corps/Dept. of Health easily expanded into service level agreement incorporating a HEMS operation.
  • Fully trained and experienced pilots technicians and aircrew are already available as is a ready supply of military real estate from which to operate e.g. FINNER.
Military registration of the aircraft involved allows more flexibility than a similar civilian operation.


Paul Fry