Police Aviation News November 2010

Police Aviation News November 2010 17
AIR AMBULANCE
AUSTRALIA
ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR: The operator hopes its new fleet of five new Pilatus PC-
12 aircraft will be in action before the end of the year. The first of the medically-equipped
Pilatus PC 12 aircraft is already operating and has transported more than 270 patients in
three months.
A $30 million program is replacing the existing fleet after 15 years of service, and is the single
biggest replacement programme the RFDS has undertaken.
The aircraft will be based out of Adelaide and Port Augusta and fly to outback areas across
South Australia and into the Northern Territory. [ABC]
SAUDI ARABIA
JEDDAH: The Saudi Red Crescent Authority is preparing to launch the first airambulance
service for the 2010 Hajj season with five aircraft to carry sick or injured people
to
hospitals.
Preparations are under way to establish landing pads at the holy sites for the around-theclock
Red Crescent Authority operation. Air ambulances currently serve Riyadh, Jeddah
and the roads leading to Mecca. [Okaz/Saudi Gazette]
SWITZERLAND
REGA: The Swiss air ambulance operation accomplished his 300,000 th mission since it
was founded in 1952. The October 1 flight was carrying 5 day old twins from the paediatric
hospital in Lucerne to the University Hospital Center Vaudois. [Rega]
UNITED KINGDOM
CAMBRIDGESHIRE: In the wake of a long expected announcement by the East Anglian
Air Ambulance [EAAA] charity, that it had selected a new commercial company to supply
doctors and Clinical Governance, the previous supplier of the service, MAGPAS, issued
a statement that launched a brief war of words between the two parties.
Magpas was complaining that its free at the point of service Helimedix teams of doctors and
paramedics was being replaced by a private company and that this was likely to be a point
on contention with the fund raisers who had to find the funding. Magpas has been providing
doctors free of charge on the Air Ambulance since 2007. Magpas has also learned that the
East Anglian Air Ambulance charity also plans to relocate the Eurocopter BK117C-1 helicopter
from RAF Wyton to Cambridge next February – this removes the aircraft from being
outside the Magpas HQ to the place where it is housed overnight anyway. Magpas are colocated
with the police air support unit.
Currently Magpas has National Health funded doctors, Defence Medical Staff physicians
and paramedics seconded from the NHS on board its various transport platforms which include
the Cambridgeshire Police MD902 helicopter, road vehicles and Anglia 2 –the charity
funded air ambulance. The military personnel are in training with Magpas in advance of
deployment to Afghanistan. As well as these funded posts, Magpas uses a cohort of nearly
30 specially trained expert consultants, registrars and paramedics who donate their time
free of charge – valued at over £ 2M a year - to fly on the aircraft. During the last three
months Magpas has provided staffing on 100% of core air ambulance shifts.
The EAAA returned with its own press statement shortly afterwards and correcting a number
of errors made by Magpas.
Where Magpas supplied the free service to the Cambridgeshire based aircraft they were not