CAAT hatches plan to upgrade emergency chopper services

CAAT hatches plan to upgrade emergency chopper services

ready for action: European Commission's director-general for mobility and transport Henrik Hololei inspects Helicopter Emergency Medical Services on top of Bangkok Hospital on Friday.
ready for action: European Commission's director-general for mobility and transport Henrik Hololei inspects Helicopter Emergency Medical Services on top of Bangkok Hospital on Friday.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) and the National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM) have agreed to join hands in a bid to make helicopter services for emergency medicine more readily available.

CAAT chief Chula Sukmanop said his agency is pushing for amendments to air navigation laws which restrict where helicopters can land without giving exemptions for emergency medical services.

The amendments also aim at giving the helicopters authority to fly direct routes instead of following specific routes identified by the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand.

Laws currently observed by Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) operators include the Air Navigation Act, which received its 12th amendment in 2010, and the Civil Aviation of Thailand Emergency Decree.

Neither of these contain specific rules or privileges granted to medical aircraft in case of emergencies.

NIEM reports helicopters can reach patients at least three to five times faster than ambulances can. The Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) is geared towards patients who are in urgent need of medical care, either from accidents or health conditions which have suddenly acted up.

However, helicopters are currently only used in severe cases, such as when patients are injured on islands and need immediate medical attention at mainland hospitals.

The service is generally free of charge under the government's universal healthcare scheme.

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said in March that the cabinet had approved amendments to a draft ministerial regulation on the issuance of a licence to set up new airports, proposed by the CAAT.

Mr Chula said these changes -- with "airports" referring to landing and take-off spots for aircraft -- will grant HEMS helicopters airway privileges during emergencies and loosen the grip on where these aircraft may land.

He said the changes are being reviewed by the National Legislative Assembly. The assembly could approve them within three to four months, when they will later be published in the Royal Gazette, he added.

Bangkok Hospital is the only medical organisation in the country which offers such services. The hospital's reports state it currently has two helicopters, with each completing around 10 to 15 trips per month, according to Mr Chula.

"It is fairly difficult to establish HEMS in Thailand at the moment, due to the high operation costs and present laws which prevent hospitals from operating freely," Mr Chula said.

"Authorised medical staff who are trained to work on helicopters are also scarce.

"We hope the amendments will encourage more operators to surface by eliminating complications for them," he added.

The collaborative effort to enhance HEMS in the kingdom has been supported by the European Union (EU), with union representatives present at a conference on the issue on Friday.

Henrik Hololei, the European Commission's director-general for mobility and transport, said the developments are a necessary measure to cut the road accident mortality rate.

He said the EU has been acting as an HEMS adviser for Thailand as the changes are made. "When HEMS becomes a common standard in Thailand, it will undoubtedly save people's lives," Mr Hololei said. "Too many people lose their lives or get seriously injured on the roads, and it must be understood that the first hour [from the moment of impact] is extremely crucial," he said.

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