Article: Air Ambulance
What is an air ambulance service?
An air ambulance service is an aircraft that is used to transport emergency medical staff to remote locations where traditional ambulance services cannot reach the patient.
Air ambulance transportation crews carry equipment that allows them to provide effective medical treatment to the critically injured or ill. Air ambulances were first conceived of in World War I and have now become an important specialist service worldwide. Air ambulances can be national and international, such as ORNGE in Canada and the international air ambulance services such as Travel Care International.
What equipment can you find on an air ambulance?
Air ambulances can be airplanes or helicopters. They are often loaded with the most important equipment for emergency medical procedures. Basic equipment includes respirators, medication, monitoring units, life support apparatus and stretchers.
There are air ambulances for many different emergencies and, depending upon the specialisation of the air ambulance service, the medical crew varies. Most crews include paramedics or emergency medical technicians, nurses and a physician. Air ambulance crews are often faced with difficult medical emergencies such as trauma, burns, spinal cord injuries, obstetric and cardiac conditions.
Every member of an air ambulance crew must be highly trained and able to work under high stress. Pilots must have experience in flying in difficult conditions as flights can be more dangerous than regular non-emergency situations.
The first air ambulances
The first air ambulances appeared in World War I when the Dutch military recognised that the transport of casualties overland was a major cause of death among their soldiers. A stretcher was attached beneath a balloon which was drawn by horses.
The first airplane ambulance service was used by the Serbians. If injured soldiers were evacuated within six hours of sustaining their injury, the mortality rate dropped significantly.
The first official air ambulance service was founded in Australia in 1928 by Reverend Dr John Flynn. After being profoundly moved by stories of tragedy among Australians living in the remote outback, he founded the Royal Flying Doctor Service. In its first year of operation, 255 patients were visited over 32,000 kilometres of Australian outback. Today, the service has 13 bases and covers 80 per cent of Australia.
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An air ambulance service near you
Most countries have air ambulance services operating under public and private funding.
The Ontario Air Ambulance (ORNGE) is the largest air ambulance service in North America. Establish in 1977, ORNGE has 33 aircraft in 26 bases across Ontario, Canada. Emergency air transport is available 24 hours a day. ORNGE flies an average 17,000 missions a year.
The ADAC is Germany’s largest automobile club. With over 15 million members, ADAC owns a large fleet of mobile mechanics. The ‘Yellow Angels’ assist motorists in trouble. The club also has a fleet of 38 air ambulance helicopters which are located to reach any location in Germany within 15 minutes.
There are also international air ambulance services such as the Travel Care International which operates in North America and beyond. Heathrow Air Ambulance services have bases in London, England and Houston, Texas and operate in Europe and North America.
Rest assured that if you are ill, injured or in a difficult situation, an air ambulance service near you may be rushing to your aid.